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NEW TESTAMENT 
HISTORY and 
LITERATURE 

By 

CHARLES B: WILLIAMS, 
B.D., Ph.D., D.D. 




Dean and Professor of the Greek New Testament and New 
Testament Theology in the Southwestern 
Baptist Theological Seminary, 
Fort Worth, Texas. 

Kansas City, Missouri: 
The Western Baptist Publishing Company, 
1917. 



Copyright 1917 
by 

The Western Baptist Publishing Co. 



✓ 

JW-I 1917 



©CI.A462804 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

Conditions in Palestine in New Testament Times 7 

CHAPTER I 

Political Conditions in the Greek and Maccabean Periods.... 7 
CHAPTER II 

The Roman Period 14 

CHAPTER III 

The Social and Economic Life of Jesus 23 

CHAPTER IV 

Religious Life — The Sects and the Temple Worship 30 

CHAPTER V 

Synagogue Worship and the Messianic Hope 35 

PART II 

Historical Books of New Testament 41 

CHAPTER VI 

A General Survey of the Gospels 41 

CHAPTER VII 

Matthew 49 

CHAPTER VIII 
Mark 60 

CHAPTER IX 

Luke 67 

CHAPTER X 

John 76 

CHAPTER XI 

A Bird's-Eye View of the Life of Christ 85 

CHAPTER XII 

Acts 108 

PART III 

Life and Letters of Paul 118 

CHAPTER XIII 
Paul's World, Early Life an-d Training. 118 

CHAPTER XIV 

Conversion of Paul and His Early Christian Career 128 

CHAPTER XV 

First Missionary Journey and the Jerusalem Conference.... 136 



CHAPTER XVI 
Second Missionary Journey 145 

CHAPTER XVII 
The Letters to Thessalonians 153 

CHAPTER XVIII 
Galatians 160 

CHAPTER XIX 
First Corinthians 169 

CHAPTER XX 

Second Corinthians 179 

CHAPTER XXI 
Romans 190 

CHAPTER XXII 
Paul a Prisoner Writes Philippians and Philemon 205 

CHAPTER XXIII 
Colossians 214 

CHAPTER XXI\ 
Ephesians 222 

CHAPTER XXV 
First Timothy 230 

CHAPTER XXVI 
Titus and Second Timothy 237 

PART IV 

Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles 245 

CHAPTER XXVII 
Hebrews 245 

CHAPTER XXVIII 
James 257 

CHAPTER ^XIX 
First Peter 264 

CHAPTER XXX 
Second Peter and Jude 270 

CHAPTER XXXI 
First John. . 277 

CHAPTER XXXII 
Second and Third John 283 

PART V 

Apocalyptic Portion 288 

CHAPTER XXXIII 
Revelation 288 

Suggested Questions • • • 300 



FOREWORD 

In the following chapters, it has been our purpose to 
put into the hands of Bible students a book which will 
give the leading facts of the New Testament history and 
discuss concisely and yet comprehensively the more im- 
portant features of the New Testament literature. It was 
originally prepared as a text-book for use in our Seminary, 
and it has also been adopted as a text-book for the cor- 
respondence department of the institution. It is the hope 
of the author that teachers of Bible classes in colleges 
and other literary schools will find it adapted to their pur- 
poses, and that progressive pastors who have advanced 
classes of young men or young women in their churches, 
who desire to study the Bible systematically, may adopt 
it as a text-book. 

In the first five chapters an outline of New Testament 
history is given. It was found impracticable to go into 
details and discuss minutely many minor points that would 
be intensely interesting to the Bible student. Students 
with plenty of time for research are referred to Schiirer, 
"A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus 
Christ." In these first five chapters we have presented, 
in small and convenient compass, the political, social, 
economic and religious history of the Jews in the two cen- 
turies prior to, and in the first century of, our Christian 
era. 

In the succeeding chapters it has been attempted to 
make the New Testament live again before the Twen- 
tieth Century Bible student. The historical conditions 
out of which arose each book of the New Testament, its 



6 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



occasion, purpose, human writer, contents and other im- 
portant literary features, have been presented as concisely 
as possible. 

What is believed to be a unique feature of the book 
is the paraphrasing of the epistles and the apocalypse in 
modern, untechnical language. This last section in each 
of the later chapters, it is hoped, will help Bible students 
to get a clear, comprehensive grasp of the main teachings 
in each book. 

Another feature, it is hoped, that will be helpful to 
young students, busy pastors, and Sunday school teachers, 
is the bibliography given at the end of the book. Each 
student should provide himself with two other reference 
books from these lists — especially with the commentaries 
suggested in parts II-V. 



NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND 
LITERATURE 

PART I 

Conditions in Palestine in New Testa- 
ment Times 

CHAPTER I 

POLITICAL CONDITIONS IN THE GREEK AND 
MACCABEAN PERIODS 

To understand Jesus and the apostles better, and to 
interpret properly the writings of the New Testament, 
we must get a clear view of the conditions out of which 
Christianity rose. So in Part I we shall study the polit- 
ical, social, economic, and religious conditions among the 
Jews in the New Testament times. In the first two chap- 
ters we shall survey the political conditions. In order 
better to understand the political conditions, we divide 
the New Testament times into three periods : the Greek 
period, from Alexander's conquest of Palestine, 331 B. C, 
to Judas Maccabseus, 168 B. C; the Maccabean period 
from 168 B. C. to the conquest of Palestine by Pompey, 
63 B. C; the Roman period, from 63 B. C. to the close of 
the First Century A. D. 

The Greek Period 
1. Alexander the Great. The Macedonian conquered 
Persia at Issus, 333 B. C, and immediately after took 
Damascus and Sidon. He laid seige to Tyre in the follow- 
ing year. While at Tyre he sent to Jerusalem a messenger 
demanding the surrender of Judea. Jaddua, the high 
priest, refused because he said he owed allegiance to the 



8 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Persian emperor. Alexander was enraged at this reply 
and marched on Jerusalem to take it by arms. The high 
priest, however, according to a vision sent him by God 
(so he claimed), with a long procession, met the Macedon- 
ian conqueror just outside the gate. Alexander was moved 
at the sight of the priests' robes and fell in worship at 
the feet of the high priest. When he arose he marched 
into the city and offered sacrifice. Thus passed Judea 
and the Jews into the hands of Greek rulers. 

Alexander was generous to the Jews. He accorded 
to them the privilege of enjoying their religious views 
and customs and ceremonies. But after his death and the 
division of his empire among his successors, this happy 
condition was not to be continued. The pro-Syrian and 
pro-Egyptian parties in Jerusalem were contending 
against each other, and even the high priesthood was cor- 
rupted by politics. The former party stood for the control 
of Palestine by Syria; the latter, its control by Egypt. 
Seleucus IV (king of Syria 187-185 B. C.), toward the 
close of his reign, tried to get possession of the temple 
records, and in 175 B. C. Palestine fell into the hands of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria. The poorer classes 
continued to groan under heavy taxes on fruit, salt, and 
farm products. 

2. Antiochus Epiphanes. In 172 B. C. Epiphanes 
became involved in wars with Egypt over the possession 
of Palestine. In two years he had gained victories over 
all Egypt except Alexandria. He then turned north and 
entered Palestine, where he found Jason and Menelaus 
quarreling over the high priesthood. He entered the sanc- 
tuary and robbed the temple of its treasures. He carried 
to Antioch the golden altar, golden candle-sticks, the table 
of shew-bread, the cups, and even scaled off from the 
temple building some of its gold. He made Menelaus 
high priest and left Syrian officials and troops in Jeru- 
salem. 

3. His Policy. What was Antiochus' policy towards 
the Jews? He wished to strengthen Hellenism in Judea, 
but this was only that he might consolidate all Syria under 



THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN PERIODS 9 



one Hellenistic civilization. He regarded the Jews as an 
unassimilated part of his empire, and so deemed them 
dangerous unless they could be completely Hellenized. 
A second time, therefore, he sacked Jerusalem, burned it, 
plundered the temple, massacred thousands, carried off 
ten thousand slaves, and established a Syrian garrison in 
its citadel. 

4. Bloody Persecution. Religious persecution marked 
this second campaign. The loyalty of the Jews to the 
religious faith of their fathers during this bloody persecu- 
tion has scarcely ever been excelled in the persecutions 
of any age. Sabbath observance and circumcision became 
capital offenses. Parents who circumcised their children, 
and worshippers who obesrved the Sabbath, were butchered 
like criminals. Heathen temples were built in all the 
cities of Judea, groves were planted in the temple square, 
an altar to Jupiter supplanted the altar of burnt offering, 
and in December, 168 B. C, a female swine was sacrificed 
in desecration of the temple. The old and the young were 
beaten with rods, and mothers were crucified with their 
infants hanging on their necks. As a result of this per- 
secution the mass of Jews became more loyal to the Old 
Testament, and the messianic hope shown brighter in this 
dreadful persecution. Some of the extra-canonic books, 
Judith, parts of Enoch, etc., were the products of these 
bitter experiences. 

The Maccabean Period 

1. The Uprising of Matathias. Apelles, a Syrian 
officer, commanded all the Jews to sacrifice to heathen 
deities. Matathias. of the house of Asmon, with his five 
sons, John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar and Jonathan, was pres- 
ent. Apelles tried to bribe them into subjection, but Mata- 
thias, the old priest, gave a shout and killed the officiating 
Jew, and his sons struck down Apelles. Matathias carried 
on a wild guerrilla warfare till his death, 166 B. C. 

2. Judas Maccabeus Sets the Jews Free. Judas, sur- 
named Maccabeus the Hammerer, was to Judea what Bruce 
was to Scotland and Washington to America. He raised 
an army of 6,000, trained them by night, and gained a series 



10 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



of glorious victories over the Syrians. Antiochus, in 
financial straits, went to Persia to replenish his treasury 
and commanded his general Lysias to blot out the Jewish 
nation. Lysias gave this order to Ptolemy Macron, and 
he sent out Nicanor and Gorgias with 40,000 infantry and 
7,000 cavalry. Though Nicanor had 5,000 foot and 1,000 
horse when he fell upon Judas at Mizpah, the latter's 300 
men put Nicanor to flight and slew 3,000 of his men. 
Gorgias, on hearing of Nicanor's defeat, fled. Judas ob- 
served the following Sabbath in thanksgiving and worship, 
crossed the Jordan, and defeated Timotheus and Bacchides. 
The next year, 165 B. C., Judas prevented Lysias, the head 
of the Syrian army, from entering Jerusalem, and then 
restored the temple worship. The altar of burnt offer- 
ings, polluted by Antiochus, was thrown down and a new 
one erected. The temple was repaired, new furniture 
was provided, the groves were rooted out of the courts, 
and loyal non-Hellenistic priests were appointed. On 25 
Chisleu (25th of December), the temple was rededicated, 
and from that day the Feast of Dedication was instituted. 
Judas strengthened, at the same time, the walls of Jeru- 
salem and the politics of the Jewish state. But at the 
moment of his victory the Chasidim, the faithful pietists 
of those days, since they had achieved religious privileges, 
deserted Judas. A Syrian army again invaded Judea, and 
Judas, in desperation, made a treaty with Rome. The 
Chasidim then returned to him, but all in vain. At the 
battle of Alasa, all but 800 of them deserted him, and so 
he was defeated and slain. 

3. Jonathan Restores an Incipient Jewish Nationality. 
At first Jonathan, surnamed Apphaeus the "Wary," was 
an outlaw and was beaten by the Syrian forces. Alcimus, 
the high priest, imbued with Hellenism, threw down the 
wall between the Jewish and Gentile courts. Jonathan 
received the authority from Demetrius, the Syrian em- 
peror, to raise an army and go to Jerusalem as headquar- 
ters. Balas, the rival of Demetrius, to outdo Demetrius, 
made Jonathan high priest and sent him a purple robe and 
a golden crown, and at the Feast of Tabernacles, 153 B. C., 
Jonathan first officiated. Balas was assassinated and De- 



THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN PERIODS 11 



metrius II succeeded to the Syrian throne. Jonathan won, 
by means of presents, the favor of the Syrian king and 
now acted as an independent ruler of Judea and renewed 
the treaty with Rome. He also made a treaty with the 
Spartans. 

4. Simon Consolidates Judea. Simon was a states- 
man, and, after the death of his brother Jonathan, became 
the head of Judea. Trypho and Demetrius II in Syria 
were in a struggle for the supremacy, and Simon proposed 
to Demetrius an alliance with him against Trypho. De- 
metrius accepted the proposal and made Simon practically 
an independent ruler of Judea, 143-142 B. C. (I Mac. 13- 
41). Simon coined Jewish money. Legal documents dated 
from his reign. The Chasidim rallied around him, the 
high priesthood was made hereditary by the Jewish peo- 
ple in his family (I Mac. 41-46). His reign was pros- 
perous. Rigid Judaism prevailed, and the temple service 
was enriched with new psalms. 

5. John Hyrcanus Achieves Political Independence. 
Hyrcanus succeeded his father Simon in 131 and was high 
priest and political head of the nation until 106 B. C. The 
Syrian king invaded Judea and drove Hyrcanus into Jeru- 
salem, which was almost starved into submission when the 
Syrian king, forced by Rome, offered to raise the seige 
on condition that the Jews lay down their arms and pay 
tribute. Hyrcanus accepted the terms. From this time 
on he was free to conquer new territory. He reduced 
Shechem and destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mt. 
Gerizim. He also conquered Idumea. He went on from 
conquest to conquest, adding new territory, until Judea, 
under his rule, reached its highest prosperity. During 
this reign the Pharisees and Sadducees became conflicting 
parties. Like his father, Simon Hyrcanus himself was at 
first a Pharisee, but later joined the Sadducees (perhaps 
for political purposes). 

6. Aristobulus, the First King. By the will of Hyr- 
canus Aristobulus became high priest, and his widowed 
mother became the political head of the nation. Aristo- 
bulus did not like this arrangement and so shut his mother 



12 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



up in prison where she starved to death. He threw into 
prison three of his brothers, but shared his throne with 
Antigonus. But he soon became suspicious of him and 
secretly slew him. Aristobulus himself died with remorse 
after reigning only one year. He was the first Maccabean 
that claimed the title of king. This is the record of Jo- 
sephus (Ant. XIII i :i), but Strabo (Georg. XVI 2:40) 
says that Aristobulus' successor was the first high priest 
that became king. 

7. Jannaeus Struggles with the Pharisees. Alexan- 
der Jannaeus was the third son of Hyrcanus and was raised 
to the throne by Salome, his brother's widow. The Phar- 
isees at this time became opponents of the Maccabeans and 
thoroughly organized against Jannaeus. He disregarded 
the sanctity of the high priest's office, and so, at 
the Feast of Tabernacles, the Pharisees pelted him 
with citron. Upon this Jannaeus fell upon the Jews and 
slew 6,000 (Ant. XIII 13:5). The struggle between Jan- 
naeus and the Pharisees lasted eight years, in which time 
50,000 Jews were slain. But Jannaeus was unhindered by 
the opposition and pushed his boundaries until they 
reached from the desert to the Mediterranean, from Leban- 
non to the Nile ; that is, his kingdom reached the mag- 
nificent proportions of the kingdom under David. Jan- 
naeus ruled twenty-seven years. Just before his death he 
was reconciled to the Pharisees and counselled his queen, 
Alexandra, to defer to them in her policies. 

8. Alexandra, the Queen of Reforms. On succeed- 
ing to the throne Alexandra followed the policy suggested 
by her dying husband. She was at heart a Pharisee and 
permitted the Pharisees to control in politics as well as 
religion (Antiq. XIII 13-16). She allowed the Pharisees 
to carry on a systematic assassination of the Sadducaic 
leaders. She was a diplomatist and kept the Jewish state 
at peace with all the nations. These were the halcyon days 
of the Pharisees. Under their good queen they instituted 
many reforms; made divorce difficult; arranged for a 
better celebration of the feasts; made the temple service 
secure, by levying a half sheckel tax on all Jews above 



THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN PERIODS 13 



twenty years of age, whether in or out of Palestine. Pub- 
lic schools were also established, in which Jewish boys 
might be trained in the history and religion of their fa- 
thers. 



CHAPTER II 



.THE ROMAN PERIOD 

This is the most interesting period of Jewish history, 
because it gives us the immediate background for the 
study of the times of Christ and the apostles ; because 
during this period the Messiah was born and lived and 
taught; was rejected by His own people and crucified as 
an impostor; furthermore, during this period Jerusalem 
was finally destroyed, and Judea ceased to be the home 
of the chosen people; and from this period began that 
most remarkable dispersion of the Jewish people to the 
four quarters of the earth, among the various nations. 

i. How the Romans Came Into Relations with the 
Jews. Queen Alexandra died in 69 B. C. Aristobulus II 
and Hyrcanus II carried on civil war in Judea over the 
priesthood. Antipater, governor of Judea, espoused the 
cause of Aristobulus II for the priesthood against Hyr- 
canus, and persuaded him to flee to Aretas, king of Arabia, 
and form an alliance with him against Hyrcanus. Aris- 
tobulus accepted this advice, and the three, with 50,000 
soldiers, marched against Hyrcanus and shut him up in 
the citadel of Jersualem. The siege lasted for some time. 
The people stood on the side of Hyrcanus, while the 
priests were for Aristobulus. While the seige was on, 
Pompey was conquering Syria and reducing all Asia to 
order (67-65). When he had made Syria secure under 
the Roman power, through his General Scaurus, he sent 
the latter against Judea. When he arrived in Judea, he 
found Hyrcanus and Aristobulus contending for the priest- 
hood. Each sent the Roman general a promise of four 
hundred talents (about $800,000) if he would decide in his 
favor as to the kingdom and high priesthood. The Roman 
general decided for Aristobulus. This occurred in 65 
B. C. By the spring of 63, Pompey himself reached Judea 
and found that Aristobulus had raised a rebellion. Im- 
mediately upon Pompey's arrival Aristobulus met him 
and promised him a large sum of money and the surrender 



THE ROMAN PERIOD 



15 



of Jerusalem if he would guarantee the withdrawal of the 
Romans from the country. Pompey accepted this pro- 
posal, but when Pompey's general, Gabinius, came to re- 
ceive the handing over of the city to Pompey, the soldiers 
of Aristobulus refused to give up the city. Pompey was 
enraged and laid seige to the city, and after three months, 
on the day of Pentecost, 63. the Romans rushed into the 
temple and butchered the priests at the altar. Twelve 
thousand Jews fell, but Pompey left the temple treasures 
of two thousand talents untouched and continued the wor- 
ship of the temple by appointing Hyrcanus as high priest. 
Aristobulus was taken as a prisoner to Rome to grace 
Pompey's triumphal entrance (Antiq. XVI 4:3). So in a 
hundred years from Judas' victories and eighty from Si- 
mon's independence of the Jewish people. Judea passed 
again into the hands of a foreign power, never again to 
be a free nation. 

2. The Psalms of Solomon. In 57 B. C. Gabinius, 
Pompey's general, divided Judea into three toparchies, 
at the head of which was the council of its chief city. These 
councils managed the taxes and local affairs in subjection 
to the proconsul of Syria. The Jews chafed under this 
foreign subjection (Antiq. XIV 4:5), and one of the finest 
literary productions among the extra-canonic writings 
was the result — The Psalms of Solomon. The production 
might be better named, The Psalms of the Pharisees, since 
the book was doubtless written by some loyal Pharisee. 
In these eighteen psalms shines the messianic hope. The 
Pharisees quit fighting the Sadducees about political 
power and settled down to the study of the law and the 
development of the old traditions of the scribes. 

3. The Rise of the Herod Family. Antipater, gov- 
ernor of Idumea, was a shrewd, extraordinary man, and 
was a friend of Rome. In return for special services to 
Rome he was put at the head of the finances of Judea. 
Antipater favored Hyrcanus II as high priest, and they 
both stood for Pompey in the civil wars between Pompey 
and Julius Caesar. At the defeat of Pompey Hyrcanus and 
Antipater transferred their allegiance to Caesar. So Caesar 



16 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



confirmed Hyrcanus II as hereditary high priest and made 
Antipater a Roman citizen and procurator of Judea (Antiq. 
XIV. 10 :8). 

4. Julius Caesar and the Jews. Caeasr was generous 
to the Jews. He freed them from the support of the 
Roman army, exempted them from all tribute during the 
Sabbatic year, and left their religious customs untouched, 
not only in Judea but in Alexandria. The Alexandrians 
were even recognized as Roman citizens (Antiq. XIV. 10:1, 
5, 6, 9). 

Antipater was now established in favor with Caesar 
and in power in Judea, and had his family put in places 
of honor and power. Phasaelus was made governor of 
Jerusalem, and Herod, his younger son, was placed in 
charge in Galilee. 

5. The Jews Under Brutus, Cassius and Antony. On 
March 15, 44 B. C, Julius Caesar was assassinated. In the 
civil wars that followed his death the Jews suffered. 
Lucius Cassius, one of the conspirators, went to Coele- 
Syria to raise funds for the campaign, and exhorbitant 
taxes were laid upon the Jews — seven hundred talents to 
be paid annually (nearly $1,400,000) (Antiq. XVI. 11:2 
and 4). But Antipater espoused the cause of Cassius. 
Herod in Galilee was so zealous in raising the taxes there 
that Cassius re-appointed him general of both land and 
sea forces in Coele-Syria. At Philippi, 42 B. C, Antony 
defeated Brutus and Cassius and went east to re-establish 
the Roman power. An embassy of Jews met him, begging 
him to restore Hyrcanus II and the theocracy, but Herod 
bought the favor of Antony. Though deputation after 
deputation of the Jews visited him, begging that he reduce 
the power of the Herodian family, he not only disregarded 
these petitions, but made Phasaelus tetrarch in Judea and 
Herod tetrarch in Galilee (Antiq. XIV 13:1-2). 

6. Herod Becomes King of the Jews. In 40 B. C. 

Antigonus the Maccabean headed a revolt against Roman 
authority, while Antony enjoyed the charms of the beauti- 
ful Cleopatra in Egypt. By the gift of a hundred talents 
and five hundred women he won the Parthian army now 



THE ROMAN PERIOD 



17 



invading Judea. With these he attacked the king's palace 
in Jerusalem, but Herod escaped to Arabia, then went to 
Rome to ask that Aristobulus, grandson of Hyrcanus II 
and brother of Mariamne, afterwards his wife, be ap- 
pointed king. But Antony and Octavius appointed Herod 
himself as king in Jerusalem. The senate in Rome con- 
firmed his appointment, and after feasting with Antony 
Herod returned to take his kingdom. But he must win 
it. Antigonus was in possession of Judea. Some of the 
Galileans joined him, the Samaritans did not resist him, 
and Antony gave him two legions of Roman soldiers. 
Though Herod's brother Joseph was defeated and slain 
by Antigonus, yet in three years Herod was master of all 
Judea except Jerusalem, and in the spring of 37 B. C. he 
laid siege to it. So sure of victory was he that he stopped 
the seige to marry Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, 
the son of Aristobulus II, and maternal grand-daughter 
of Hyrcanus II, and reputed the most beautiful woman of 
that age. Soon after, with eleven legions and 6,000 horse, 
he captured Jerusalem from Antigonus, after a five 
months' siege, and had Antigonus beheaded. Thus passed 
away the last hope of the Maccabean dynasty. 

7. Herod's Character. In character Herod was a 
marvel, a shrewd and ambitious man of the world, a brave 
fighter, and a great builder. As king he ranked among the 
"allied kings;" that is, he was king by consent of Rome. 
He did not pay tribute, but made large gifts. He made 
his own copper coins. 

8. Significance of Herod's Reign — 

(a) Hellenism increased. The heathen population 
increased in all Judea. Jerusalem had theatres, amphi- 
theatres, games and a gymnasium, just like the Greek 
cities. Still Pharisaism was consolidated. At the begin- 
ning of his reign the Pharisees favored Herod against 
Antigonus and the Sadducees. So Herod had the Sanhedrin 
reorganized under Pharisaic influence. In his reign flour- 
ished the teachers Hillel and Shammai, the latter being 
stern and rigid, the former gentle and liberal. It was 



18 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Hillel who gave the world, through Judaism, its negative 
golden rule: "Do not to others what thou wouldest not 
have done to thyself." 

(b) He broke the power of the Sadducaic aristocracy 
by executing forty leaders at the beginning of his reign 
(Antiq. XV 1:2). Throughout his life he had no fear 
from them. 

(c) He conquered the nations around, especially 
humiliating the Arabians (Antiq. XV 5). 

(d) Being a diplomatist, he kept ever in the favor 
of Rome, easily transferring his allegiance from Antony 
to Octavius when the latter defeated the former at Actium. 

(e) One of the most remarkable features of his reign 
was his building operations. He rebuilt the citadel of 
the Jerusalem temple, and named it Antonia for Antony; 
he built a theatre and amphitheatre in Jerusalem; castles 
in several cities ; and even built cities, Sebaste and Caes- 
area, the latter in building twelve years and named for 
Augustus. In the Jordan valley he also built Antipatris 
and Phasaelus, named for his father and brother respect- 
ively. He even erected public buildings in foreign cities, 
Antioch, Tyre, Damascus, Sparta, etc., which he visited. 

(f) Though Hellenistic in taste, Herod was tolerant 
toward the Jews, in the main, and sought to improve their 
internal conditions. He improved the water supply, twice 
reduced the taxes, in 20 and 14 B. C, and kept the country 
in peace. In 20 B. C. he began rebuilding the temple of 
Jerusalem. 

(g) The political party called Zealots took its rise 
in Herod's reign. They sprang from the Pharisees. They 
despaired of the coming of the Messiah and resorted to 
revolution to right the wrongs of Judea and set the coun- 
try free from Rome. 

(h) The most mysterious occurrences in the reign 
of Herod were his numerous murders. His mother-in-law, 
Alexandra, and his sons, Aristobulus and Antipater, were 
the victims of his bloody designs. After living until the 
world's Supreme King was born — the Messiah of the Jews 
— and, after slaying the innocents of Bethlehem and his 



THE ROMAN PERIOD 



19 



son Antigonus in his last months, in despair and with an 
incurable plague, Herod the Great died in 4 B. C. 

9. Herod's Successors. Herod the Great on a visit 
to Rome received the right from Augustus to dispose of 
his kingdom. He made three or four wills, but Augustus 
confirmed the last one, according to which his son Arche- 
laus became king of Judea, Herod Antipas, tetrarch of 
Galilee and Perea, and Herod Philip, tetrarch of the east- 
ern districts. 

10. Archelaus Rules in Judea. Trouble began at once 
with Archelaus. The people demanded a reduction of 
taxes and a release of prisoners. Though Archelaus 
granted these demands, the Pharisees took revenge for 
the judgment by Herod of Judas and Matathias, two 
Zealots who just before Herod's death incited their fol- 
lowers to tear the golden eagle from the gate over the 
temple. At the Passover a battle ensued between Arche- 
laus and the Pharisees and three thousand Jews fell. 

The Jews appealed to Augustus for the restoration of 
the theocracy and the deposition of the Herod dynasty. 
They sent fifty prominent men who were joined by 8,000 
Jews in Rome. Augustus decided againts the Jews and 
made Archelaus king. Archelaus was worse than his fa- 
ther, having all his bad qualities and lacking his good ones. 
After ten years of "barbarous and tyrannical usage" of 
the Jews (so Josephus) Archelaus was accused before 
Augustus, deposed, banished to Gaul, and his property 
confiscated (6 A. D.). Such were the political conditions 
of Judea while Jesus was growing into boyhood. 

11. Antipas in Galilee and Perea. Herod Antipas, 
tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, is sometimes called "king" 
in the gospels (Mk. 6:14, but see Matt. 14:1, and Luke 
3:19, where he is called tetrarch). He is the greatest of 
the sons of Herod the Great and reigned from 4 B. C. 
to 39 A. D. In character he was cunning, being called 
by Jesus "that fox." He attended the Jewish feasts, but 
also observed the heathen customs. He fell in love with 
Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, divorced his legal 



20 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



wife, and married her. John the Baptist denounced him 
for this course and lost his head at Antipas' hands. 

12. Philip. Herod Philip, tetrarch of the Northeast- 
ern district from 4 B. C. to 34 A. D., was not connected 
with the history of the Jews, and so was not important in 
New Testament history. But Philip was the finest char- 
acter of the Herodian family. 

13. Decapolis. Decapolis was a confederation of 
Grseco-Roman cities and included at first only ten cities, 
which united for military and commercial purposes. Scyth- 
opolis was the capital. The inhabitants of these cities 
were, in the main, Greeks, and through the Hellenism of 
this section Palestine felt the power of Greek culture. 

14. The Dispersion. From the days of Antigonus 
III, and almost from the days of Alexander the Great, the 
Jews formed colonies in various parts of the world. These 
colonies of Jews outside of Palestine were called the Dia- 
spora or Dispersion or "Grecians," while the Jews of 
Palestine were called "Hebrews." The Jews of the dis- 
persion were loyal to Judaism, attending the Passover at 
Jerusalem at least once in a lifetime, and in whatever land 
turned their faces toward Jerusalem when they prayed. 
The Jews of the dispersion, however, were more liberal 
than the Palestinian Jews and often sought to establish a 
universal Mosaism. Though not successful in this, the 
Jews in the dispersion helped to prepare the world for 
the coming of the Messiah. Such great spirits as Paul and 
Barnabas belonged to the dispersion and brought to Chris- 
tianity their cosmopolitan culture. 

15. The Roman Procurators. At the deposing of 
Archelaus, 6 A. D., Judea, Samaria, and Idumea were con- 
solidated into a Roman province called Judea, over which 
the Roman procurators were placed as governors. These 
procurators seemed to have been independent of the legates 
of Syria, except on rare occasions. 

16. Their Powers — 

(1.) They were fiscal agents of the Roman govern- 
ment; that is, they were at the head of the administration 
of the system of taxes and customs. They were salaried 



THE ROMAN PERIOD 



21 



officials. The customs formed an intricate system for 
swindling and oppressing the people. They were numer- 
ous and burdensome, export and import duties, market 
taxes, taxes on salt and other products, and were let out 
to speculators who again sold their rights to collect the 
taxes to subordinate collectors called in the gospels "pub- 
licans" (see Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, I, 5151*). 

(2.) The procurator also had military powers, keep- 
ing one cohort regularly and at feasts two or three or more, 
in order to put down any rebellion that might arise. 

(3.) The procurator had also judicial powers. As 
judge he had the power of life and death. Only a Roman 
citizen had the right to appeal from his decision to the 
Roman emperor (Antiq. XX 1:1; 5:2). The local and 
Jerusalem Sanhedrins tried most of the ordinary cases. 
Cases of capital punishment had to be submitted to the 
procurator, the Sanhedrin not having the power for capital 
punishment after about 40 B. C. 

The Later Herods 

1. Herod Agrippa I., the son of Aristobulus and the 
grandson of Herod the Great, was born in 10 B. C, and 
died in 44 A. D. He is the Herod mentioned in Acts XII, 
who embraced the cause of the Jews against the Chris- 
tians. He was educated in Rome and was thoroughly im- 
bued with Hellenistic culture. He was magnanimous but 
reckless and extravagant. To please the Jews he perse- 
cuted the Church. He slew James, the brother of John, 
and imprisoned Peter. We have two accounts of his death, 
one in Josephus (Antiq. XIX 8:2) and the other in Acts 
XII. 

2. Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa I. He was 
seventeen years of age at the death of his father. So the 
emporor Claudius would not give him his father's king- 
dom, but later on he received large territories from the 
Roman emperor. He was Hellenistic like all the Herods, 
but tried to combine Judaism with his Greek culture. His 
capital city, Caesarea Philippi. he improved and named 
Neronias for Nero. To show favor to the Jews, he sought 



22 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



to extend Judaism among the surrounding nations. It 
was this Herod to whom Paul delivered the address when 
he was awaiting trial in Csesarea. In the war between 
the Jews and the Romans he favored the Romans and 
rejoiced in the celebrations of Roman victories. 

The Jewish-Roman War and Fall of Judea 

1. Cause and Occasion. From the middle of the 
First Century down to 66 there is general unrest in Pales- 
tine. There was constant conflict between the various 
religious sects of the Jews. Out of this unrest and con- 
flict grew the Jewish-Roman war. Rich conservative Jews 
opposed the war, but a quarrel in Csesarea over some build- 
ings which crowded the synagogue kindled the war. The 
sicarii (revolutionists who carried daggers under their 
clothes) and the Zealots routed the Roman garrison in 
Jerusalem. The priests refused to sacrifice for the em- 
peror. Jews from every quarter flocked into Palestine. 
The revolt against Rome was now organized. Annas the 
high priest headed the party of moderate revolutionists 
in Judea, while Josephus led the Galileans. Vespasian, 
son of the Roman emperor, marched against Galilee first, 
and took all of its strongholds. Josephus himself was 
taken prisoner. 

2. Issue. In 68 Nero died and Vespasian ceased hos- 
tilities for a short time, during which time civil war 
reigned in Jerusalem between the Zealots and conserva- 
tives. This fighting lasted until the close of 69. At the 
Passover of 70, Titus, a Roman general and a son of Ves- 
pasian, appeared in Jerusalem, the only point now held by 
the Jews. Jerusalem was impregnable except on the north, 
and it took Titus five months to take it. On Juh^ 17th 
sacrifices ceased, and in September the whole city passed 
into the hands of the Romans and the temple was burned. 
According to Josephus, 1,000,000 Jews perished, while 
97,000 were taken captives. Thus practically ended the 
history of the Jews as it relates itself to New Testament 
times. 



CHAPTER III 



THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE JEWS 
General Characteristics 

1. The Population. The population was mostly 
Jewish, yet many heathen lived in the large cities of Gal- 
ilee and in Decapolis. The Samaritans were a mongrel 
race and the inhabitants of Judea intensely Jewish. The 
Galileans were more liberal because of contact with the 
outer world. The population was mostly in the cities and 
towns, the country being sparsely settled. Josephus speaks 
of more than two hundred cities and towns around the Sea 
of Galilee, and three walled cities, Tiberias, Sepphoris 
and Gabara. 

2. The Roads. After the Roman conquest by Pcm- 
pey good roads were established from north to south, east 
to west. There were three main roads from Jerusalem to 
the north of Galilee, one east of the Jordan, one over the 
western plain, and a third through central Samaria. Most 
of the taxes were spent by the procurators for improving 
the roads. 

3. The Classes. There were five classes in the so- 
ciety of Palestine; first ranked the priests because of their 
reputed moral character and their exalted religious posi- 
tion. Then came the aristocrats composed of rabbis, Phar- 
isees, scribes, and noted rich men. Luxury and pomp were 
common in aristocratic circles (Luke 16:19 ff). Then came 
the common people who were utterly despised by the upper 
classes and especially by the Pharisees because of their 
ignorance of the law. Lazarus in Luke 16 belongs to thib 
class. Then came the slaves, who were sometimes poor 
Jews, but oftener foreigners. These were freed every 
seventh year. Last of all came the foreigners, many of 
whom lived in large cities of Palestine, especially in Dec- 
apolis and Galilee. 

4. The Language Spoken. It is not likely that it 
was the pure Hebrew of the Old Testament, since it seems 
not to have been used in the last three hundred years B. C. 



24 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

as the common language of the people. Nor are the argu- 
ments convincing that it could have been the Greek, al- 
though a few New Testament scholars think so. The 
general view is that the language of the people was 
Aramaic, many words of which language occur in the New 
Testament, namely, talitha cumi, Abba, Eli, Eloi, etc., etc. 
It is probable that Greek was also spoken as the language 
of the market and public places, especially in the leading 
cities. 

5. Hellenism. Since Antiochus Epiphanes' time hel- 
lenism, like leaven, gradually permeated Jewish society. 
From 37 B. C. the Herods fostered Hellenism, and the spirit 
of foreign culture had thrived still more because of the 
Roman rule, although the scribes and the Pharisees had 
opposed its influence. It was the mightiest in Decapolis 
and Galilee and weakest in Jerusalem ; but still Herod 
built theatres and amphitheatres and had the Grecian games 
celebrated in Jerusalem itself. The Jews of the dispersion 
were more Hellenistic than the Palestinian Jews. 

Domestic Life of the Jews 
1. Their Houses. There were no houses in the early 
times. Men lived in caves (Gen. 19:30). The Jews, how- 
ever, when we first meet them in history, were living in 
tents (Gen. 13:4). Prior to the sojourn in Egypt the Jews 
lived in tents in the wilderness ; after entering Canaan 
they dwelt in houses built after the style of the Canaanites. 
The houses of the very poor had only one room in which 
they lived, ate and slept, but two-story houses were com- 
mon even among the poor. The house usually had an outer 
gallery running all round, with an outer porch across this, 
and usually an outside stairway led to the house top. They 
had no windows except latticed ones, or openings unclosed. 
There were no windows in the front of the house. The 
houses of the poor were built of sundried mud, or of wood. 
The roofs were made of bushes and limbs covered with 
mud and rolled hard to turn water. The floors were of dirt 
or wood. The better-to-do class built houses of brick or 
stone, usually with two stories and several chambers. The 
houses of the rich were divided into winter and summer 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE 



25 



apartments, the latter on the second story and the former 
on the first. In the upper classes the women had separate 
apartments, usually in the rear. The house tops were 
used for recreation and prayer. Doors were built of wood, 
stone, or metal and with bolts, bars, and locks. 

2. Their furniture. The poor had no chairs, but 
stools. The beds were usually built in the side of the 
wall and used for chairs in the day and for sleeping at 
night. The middle class also had mats or skins for chairs, 
which were often used for beds by laying mattresses on 
them (see Matthew 9:6). The rich had sofas, divans, beds, 
and even carpets (II Kings 4:10, Amos 6:4, etc.). 

3. Their Meals and Food. The Jews had three meals : 
breakfast just after dawn, luncheon at eleven, and the 
main meal or supper at five (see Broadus, Commentary 
on Matt. 25 :4, who claims that the Jews had but two meals, 
though most scholars are against him). The food consisted 
of bread, either barley or wheat, milk, rice, vegetables, 
honey and locusts, and at feasts various meats, venison, 
veal, but never pork. Water was the main drink, wine, 
however, being used by the very rich (Rev. 18:20). They 
ate reclining at the table (Matt. 26:7, John 18:20, etc.). 
There were very few inns, and so hospitality to strangers 
was enjoined and rigidly practiced by all typical Jews. 

4. Their Dress. In ancient times the main dress 
was animal skins. The Jews, however, in their earliest 
known history, wore woolen and linen garments. The rich 
wore the finest linen (Luke 14:19) and silk dyed with 
purple, scarlet, or crimson. The common Jewish garment 
was a tunic, usually linen, reaching down to the knees 
and fastened by a girdle about the waist. Uusally an 
undergarment, or shirt, was worn under the tunic. When 
needed an upper garment called, in the New Testament, 
"mantle," was worn, it being usually square and just 
thrown over the shoulders. It corresponded to the Ameri- 
can extra coat, or overcoat. Sandals, mere soles with 
straps on top, constituted the usual shoes. The hat was a 
kind of mitre, or turban. 



26 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



5. The Status of Woman. Woman was not regarded 
as man's equal, but her position was much higher among 
the Jews than among the Romans or other nations. The 
women had to live in separate apartments if it were pos- 
sible to provide them. The girls were taught at home, 
never in schools, and only reading, writing, and domestic 
duties. Wives were expected to call their husbands "mas- 
ter," "lord." It was only the elevating touch of Christ 
that raised woman to her proper place of dignity, equality, 
happiness, and usefulness. 

6. Marriage and Divorce. Betrothal was the initial 
step to marriage. In the olden times it was arranged be- 
tween the families of the bride and groom (Gen. 24:6; 
Judges 14:2, etc.). Betrothal was sacred and to be dis- 
solved only by divorce (Luke 1:27, 2:5). The formula 
for betrothal was, "Wilt thou go with this man?" addressed 
to the woman. She replied: "I will go." A legal docu- 
ment, properly signed, fixed the dowry. After some 
months, sometimes one or two or even twelve, the mar- 
riage ceremony took place. First came the wedding pro- 
cession. The groom's friends marched to the house of 
the bride, then came the return journey of the groom's 
friends with the bride and her friends bearing torches 
on poles, while shouts filled the air (Matt. 25:1 ff). On 
the arrival at the groom's house the bride was presented 
to the groom, and the legal documents signed. After the 
washing of hands and the benediction the marriage supper 
began (Matt. 22:1-4). This was a splendid festivity among 
the rich and even among the middle classes lasted a week. 
Monogamy was the rule, but polygamy was practiced 
among the Jews even in later times. 

Divorce was permitted by Moses (Deut. 24). A bill 
of divorcement must be written. It was not common 
among women to initiate the separation. The men usually 
did so. Causes for divorce differed in different times 
and according to different schools of thought. Shammai 
approximated and anticipated Jesus when he made un- 
chastity the sole cause, but Hillel held that divorce should 
be granted to a man "if the wife burned his food in cook- 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE 



27 



ing," or "if he found another fairer than she" (so Talmud ; 
see Antiq. IV 8:23, where Josephus mentions many 
causes). It was left to Jesus to raise woman to her right- 
ful sphere in man's affections and in the home and make 
marriage indissoluble except for fornication. 

7. The Training of Children. To have children, es- 
pecially boys, was a mark of God's pleasure. The male 
was circumcised on the eighth day. In the second or third 
year the mother began to tell the child stories of Jewish 
history. The father began to teach him at five. At six 
or seven he was put into the public school in connection 
with the synagogue. At ten the boy studied the elemen- 
tary teaching of the Mishna and at fifteen the Talmud, 
the great sayings of Jewish rabbis. 

8. Death and Funerals. Death was the mark of God's 
displeasure, especially if the deceased was young. There 
was grief at the funeral. It was common to hire mourners. 
To manifest their grief best they beat their heads, tore 
their hair and clothes. The dead were buried in caves 
covered with rocks, sometimes in vaults dug out of solid 
rock. The Jews, with the exception of the Sadducees, at 
the time of Christ, believed in the resurrection. Still death 
was to the Jew the time of gloom and almost of despair. It 
was left to Jesus to teach that dying was merely falling 
to sleep like a child. 

Economic Life — Occupations 

1. Sheep Raising. The first occupation of civilized 
man was cattle raising. The shepherd life among the 
Hebrews can be traced to Abraham and Lot. Isaac and 
Jacob led the nomadic life. The descendants of Jacob for 
four hundred years led the life of shepherds in Goshen. 
Agriculture is the next stage in the development of oc- 
cupations. The Jews learned agriculture in Egypt. Certain 
it is that on their settlement in Canaan they became an 
agricultural people; that is, they became farmers as well 
as shepherds. 

2. Agriculture. This occupation was in its rudest 
stage among the Jews. They had plows made of wood 



28 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



with a small bit of iron. Such plows are shown in Egyp- 
tian hieroglyphics. The plows consisted of one long 
crooked beam and only one handle, and were drawn by 
oxen or asses. They had also rude harrows. The soil 
of Palestine, especially in Galilee, was famed for its fer- 
tility (Tacitus, Hist. V 6). The main crops were barley, 
wheat, millet, beans, lentils, and flax. Sowing time began 
about the middle of October. Harvest time began about 
the middle of April for barley, for wheat a little later. 
The reaping was with a wooden cycle with flint teeth in 
the shape of an ox's jaw bone. The threshing floor was 
open space in which the grain was threshed with oxen. 
The grain filled with straw was winnowed by winnowing 
shovels (Matt. 3:12). 

3. Fishing. This was also a great industry among 
the Jews in the time of Christ. Thirty-three kinds of 
fish were found in the Jordan valley, especially in the 
Sea of Galilee. Capernaum was a great fish market. Large 
fish were found on the Mediterranean coasts. There is 
a whale 43 feet long in the museum at Beirut. They used 
two kinds of nets, a small cast net and a large seine, also 
hook and line (Matt. 17:27). 

From these three occupations Jesus drew parables 
about the kingdom of heaven. 

4. Carpentry. This occupation was also common 
among the Jews, Joseph and Jesus both being carpenters. 

5. Commerce. This also became a great occupation 
of the Jews in their later history. The Maccabean revolu- 
tion increased their commercial spirit. The conquest by 
Cyrus, by Alexander, the dispersion of the Jews, and the 
Roman conquest, all combined to make them a great com- 
mercial people. There were regular trade routes between 
Palestine, Babylon, Damascus, Samaria, Arabia, and 
Egypt. The principal exports were wheat, oil, wine, bal- 
sam, spelt, honey, cattle, wool, fish, and slaves (See 
App. I). 

The Arts Among the Jews 
1. Poetry. There is no drama in Jewish literature. 
The forms of poetry are lyric, didactic, historical and epic 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE 



29 



(See Gen. 49; Ex. 15, Judges 5; II Sam. 1:18 ff.; Job; 
Psalms; Proverbs; Psalms of Solomon; Lamentations). 
There is no poetry in the New Testament except Mary's 
"Magnificat" and Zacharias' "Benedictus," and that quoted 
from the Old Testament. Though we have the Psalms 
of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, as poetic 
productions of Jews just before the Christian era, the 
writing of poetry had almost ceased among the Jews at 
the time of Jesus. 

2. Music. The Jews were musicians, both instru- 
mental and vocal. Music was a conspicuous part of the 
temple worship, was freely used at wedding festivities 
and on any special occasion for rejoicing. They had 
stringed instruments, harp and lyre mainly, and wind in- 
struments, the flute being most common. The latter was 
used at weddings and funerals. 

3. Medicine. Several diseases are mentioned in the 
Scriptures — tuberculosis, dropsy, epilepsy, fever, gan- 
grene, hemorrhoids, lunacy, paralysis, etc. The healing 
art was in its infancy among the Jews, since they knew 
nothing of anatomy or physiology. Oil, wine and hot 
applications with magical formulae were the main rem- 
edies. They could not cope at all with internal diseases, 
which were deemed the mark of divine anger. 

4. Architecture. There were no great architects 
among the Jews of the later period. Solomon had to send 
to the king of Tyre for architects in building his temple. 
After the Roman period the Jews began to learn a better 
architecture from the Romans. Herod must have em- 
ployed Jewish carpenters in rebuilding the temple (Antiq. 
XI, II). 

5. Writing. The earliest writing was on stone 
(Moses). In the time of Christ, the Jews wrote on parch- 
ment (animal skins) and papyrus — on the latter usually. 
Nearly all the people could write. 



CHAPTER IV 



RELIGIOUS LIFE—THE SECTS AND THE TEMPLE 
WORSHIP 

1. Judaism Monotheistic. The doctrine of one God 
is one of the chief peculiarities of the Jews. From Abra- 
ham on the Jews were more or less monotheistic, although 
at times falling into idolatry. Their stay in Egypt and 
indirect contact with its animal worship somewhat weak- 
ened their monotheistic belief. The same may be said of 
their contact with the Canaanites and other heathen na- 
tions; that is, the masses were at various times more or 
less influenced by the religions of the nations with whom 
they came in closest contact. From the exile on, because 
they saw that the heathen gods could not protect the 
Assyrians and Babylonians, the Jews were staunch be- 
lievers in Jehovah, the one God. In Jesus' day the wor- 
shippers of many gods were derided by the Jews. 

2. The Pharisees. The Pharisees grew out of the 
ancient Chasidim party. They were almost exclusively a 
religious party, but still they were nearly always in con- 
flict with the political rulers, except in the reign of Alex- 
andra, whose policies they dictated. They were always 
anti-Hellenistic. The word Pharisee comes from the 
Aramaic Perushin, the separate ones. Hence the Phari- 
sees were the separatists of their day. 

3. Their Doctrines. They believed in the law, both 
oral and written, but seemed to have put more emphasis 
on the oral than on the written law. They regarded right- 
eousness as a human achievement, to be obtained by per- 
fect obedience to the law. 

They believed in the immortality of the soul and the 
resurrection of the body, the punishment of the wicked 
hereafter, and the reward of the righteous after the resur- 
rection. They believed in angels and spirits. They be- 
lieved that God watched over His creatures in a divine 
providence, His purposes fixing their destinies, though 
they seem to have regarded men as free in the choice of 
good and evil. 



RELIGIOUS LIFE— SECTS AND TEMPLE. 31 



They were religiously proud, regarding themselves 
as better than the common people. They were patriotic 
and longed to see their country the seat of a theocracy 
based on the divine law. They looked for the coming of 
the Messiah, and this messianic hope was their highest 
characteristic. 

4. The Influence of the Pharisees. They were not 
the shapers of political destiny like the Sadducees (except 
in the reign of Alexandra). 

Through their emphasis of the law they largely 
moulded the religious life of the nation through its polit- 
ical leaders and their ascendancy over the people. 

They were the religious teachers, nearly all of the 
scribes being Pharisees. So legalism prevailed even 
among the common people. 

The Pharisees were authors. Nearly all the extra- 
canonical literature of the era was written by the Phari- 
sees. 

5. The Sadducees. The Sadducees were descended 
from Zadok the priest. They were the political leaders 
and were always in supremacy over the Pharisees, except 
in the short reign of Alexandra. They held the high 
priesthood. They did not believe in the resurrection or 
in the spirit world. They were the materialists and the 
skeptics of the Jews. 

Other Political and Religious Parties 

1. The Essenes. This sect is not mentioned in the 
New Testament, but some scholars think they had great 
influence over Jesus and John the Baptist. The evidence 
for this view is not conclusive. They arose out of the 
small wing of the Chasidim, while the Pharisees sprang 
from the larger wing. They did not believe in animal 
sacrifices or marriage. They lived in communities, were 
exclusively tillers of the soil, lived remarkably holy lives, 
despised riches, and exhibited a beautiful spirit of charity 
and brotherhood. 

2. The Herodians. This was a political party who 
favored the reign of the Herods over the Jews. 



32 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



3. The Zealots. These were the political revolu- 
tionists, who sought to free the Jews from the Roman 
supremacy and thus to bring in the messianic kingdom. 

The Temple and Its Sacrificial Worship 

1. Early Places of Worship. Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob, the early fathers of the Jewish race, built altars 
and worshipped on the mountains. They selected the 
mountains apparently on account of their separation from 
the world and their nearness to heaven. They seem to 
have had definite places for altars and for worship. At 
first the heads of families acted as priests and offered 
the sacrifices. After Moses we have a priestly class, the 
sons of Levi. The first concentration of Hebrew worship 
was in the tabernacle. Afterwards the worship of the 
nation was united in the temple. In the time of Jesus 
Jerusalem was the most sacred place, and orthodox Jews 
thought that there the most acceptable worship could be 
rendered (John 4:20). 

2. The Two Temples. The first temple was built by 
Solomon, of material gathered largely by David, on Mt. 
Moriah, which formerly belonged to the Jebusites. It 
was plundered by Shishak thirty-four years after its com- 
pletion. It was afterwards polluted by idolatrous Jewish 
kings and in 586 B. C. was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, 
and its treasures were deported to Babylon. After the 
exile, the second temple was built by Zerubbabel, it being 
finished in 516 B. C. It was desecrated by Epiphanes, 
168 B. C. ; restored by Judas Maccabeus, 165 B. C, and was 
rebuilt by Herod the Great, beginning 20 B. C. Eighteen 
thousand workmen were employed by him in nine years. 
The Jews continued the building and ornaments for forty- 
six years, according to John 2 120. 

The differences between the first and second temples: 
the first had the ark and the mercy seat, the second did not; 
the first had the Skekinah (glorious manifestation of God's 
presence), the second did not; the first had the Urim and 
Thummim, the second did not (Josephus regards the Urim 
and Thummim as the precious stones in the high priest's 
garments) ; the first had the spirit of prophecy, the second 



RELIGIOUS LIFE— SECTS AND TEMPLE. 33 



did not. Both temples were built on the same stupendous 
rock, 450 to 500 feet high. 

3. The Later Temple. The later temple was built of 
hard white stone. The temple square was a half mile in 
circumference and had nine gates. The beautiful gate was 
the most splendid and was built of Corinthian brass. The 
outer court was for the Gentiles, in which were the mar- 
kets, and was surrounded by porticoes (Solomon's porch 
being one). The inner court was for the Jews and con- 
sisted of two parts : the court of the women, separated from 
the Gentile court by a low stone wall (See Ephesians 2:14, 
15), and the court of men, reached by a flight of fifteen 
steps from the women's court, which itself was higher 
than the Gentile court. The inner court had two parts, 
the outer sanctuary and the holy place. In the outer sanc- 
tuary were placed the holy altar of incense and table of 
shew bread. None but the high priest entered the holy 
of holies, which was separated by a double veil. 

4. Its Ministers. Only Levites were ministers in the 
temple services. Only the sons of Aaron could be priests. 
David constituted twenty-four classes of priests. Only 
four of these returned from the exile, and these were di- 
vided into twenty-four orders, who ministered each a week 
in Jerusalem. Each class had presidents who assigned 
to each his place in the services (Luke 1:9). The high 
priest was the head of all the priests, and he alone of- 
ficiated on the day of atonement, and hence he is the type 
of Christ in the New Testament. The daily sacrifice of 
burnt offerings, consisting of two lambs, was made morn- 
ing and evening at the third and ninth hours, our 9 a. m. 
and 3 p. m. The weekly sacrifices were offered every 
Sabbath in addition to the daily sacrifices. There were 
also monthly sacrifices (two bullocks, a ram and seven 
lambs) at the new moon. In addition to these there were 
also yearly sacrifices at the great feasts. Prayer was 
offered daily at the hours of the daily sacrifices. 

The Feasts 

1. The Passover. This was observed to celebrate the 
deliverance of the first born of the Israelites from the 



34 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



tenth plague (Exodus 12). It began on the fourteenth of 
Nisan (parts of our March and April) and lasted through 
the twenty-first. At the time of Christ at this feast, four 
cups of wine were taken, then the great Hallel (Praise) 
Psalms, 113-118, were sung. It was the Roman custom 
to free prisoners at this feast (hence the Barabbas story in 
the gospels). 

2. Pentecost. This feast occurred fifty days after 
the Passover, on the sixth day of Sivan (parts of our May 
and June), It celebrated the harvests of barley and wheat 
and was a season of thanksgiving and rejoicing. 

3. The Feast of Tabernacles. This feast extended 
from the fifteenth to the twenty-second of Tishri (our Sep- 
tember and October), celebrated the dwelling of the Jews in 
tents in the desert, and was called the Feast of Ingathering 
in Exodus and Feast of Booths in Deuteronomy. The 
dedication of Solomon's Temple took place at the Feast of 
Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:2). In the time of Jesus it was 
common at this feast to bring a pitcher of water from 
Siloam to be poured out as a libation. 

4. The Day of Atonement. This occurred on the 
tenth of Tishri (September to October). It was really a 
fast and not a feast. No work was done and no food was 
eaten. On this day the high priest alone entered the holy 
of holies and made atonement for himself and all Israel. 

5. The Feast of Purim (Lots). This feast was cele- 
brated on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Ada, the twelfth 
month, our February and March, to commemorate the 
providential escape of the Jews from the massacre planned 
by Haman (Esther 3:9). All Jews, both sexes, even down 
to this day, read the book of Esther from the scroll in 
celebration of the Feast of Purim. 



CHAPTER V 



THE SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP AND THE MESSIANIC 

HOPE 

1. The Synagogue— Its Origin. The origin of the 
synagogue is traced back to the exile where the Jews, de- 
prived of temple worship, met to read the Scriptures, chant 
the Psalms, and pray. It is likely, though not certain, that 
Ezra, on the return, established synagogues in Palestine. 

2. The Building. The synagogue building was quad- 
rangular, built of native rock, standing north and south, 
with the opening toward the south. The ark was placed 
at the south end, and seats for the elders were in front 
of it, facing the people. The pulpit for the reader and 
the minister was in the center and the women's gallery in 
the north end. The building- was regarded as sacred, and 
in it must be no eating, jesting, laughing, or talking. 

3. The Service. The officers were, the ruler of the 
synagogue, who maintains order and selects the leaders 
of public worship ; attendant, who had charge of the build- 
ing and its furnishings, the scroll of Scripture, handing 
them to the reader and replacing them as the reader re- 
turned them ; elders and the minister (teacher and leader of 
service). The order of services was, eulogies, benedictions, 
reading the law. then the scroll of the prophets, then the 
sermon or address. Preaching was early practiced among 
the Tews. The Rabbis preached long before the time of 
Hillel. The sermon of the early Christian preacher was 
patterned after the sermon of the Jewish synagogue. 

4. Rabbinism. The rabbis were incessant students 
and the best interpreters of the law in those days. Out of 
their teaching was developed what is called Rabbinism, 
a system of legalism which emphasized not only the writ- 
ten, but also the oral law. The oral law was called the 
''hedge'' about the Mosaic law, and the scribes were very 
sensitive about the hedge. There were two schools of Rab- 
binism in Jesus' day, that of Shammai and that of Hillel, 
who differed as to the teachings about the Sabbath, prayer, 



36 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



marriage and divorce, angels, etc. Only authorized rabbis 
could teach the people. The rabbinic college was in Jeru- 
salem. Gamaliel I. was president in the time of Christ. 
Paul took a course in this college. After the fall of 
Jerusalem, Johanan ben Zakkai (Hillel's disciple) founded 
another rabbinical college in Jamnia. The Mishna, that is, 
the committing of the rabbinic oral teachings to writing, 
was the work of ths college, mainly after the fall of Jeru- 
salem, and consisted of six parts, or orders. 

5. Popular Religion. The masses were not very re- 
ligious. They did not attend the synagogue services regu- 
larly. The country people attended only on market days, 
Monday and Thursday. The town people attended the 
two services on the Sabbath, in addition to those on the 
market days. The masses had drifted far from the plain 
spiritual teachings of the prophets and had many supersti- 
tious beliefs about evil spirits and their influence on ordi- 
nary life. They believed in magic and used it in healing. 
Yet religion was a practical matter and of supreme signifi- 
cance with the average Jew. 

The Jewish Messianic Hope 

The messianic hope was the bright thread of life run- 
ning through the history of the Hebrew nation. Delitzsch 
regards Gen. 3:15 as the first messianic prophecy. Gen. 
12:3 is also regarded as a messianic promise; so also Gen. 
49:10. The promise is narrowed still further in II. Sam. 
7:12, 13, 16. In these passages we have first a general 
promise for the "woman's seed," then to Abraham's seed, 
then to the tribe of Judah, and finally to the house of 
David. For a complete list of messianic prophecies see 
Edersheim, Life and Times, app. IX. Several psalms, 2, 
22, 45, 72, no, etc., are messianic. So also is Hosea 3:4, 
5 (David their King); Isa. 9:6-7 (Child is born); Isa. 53 
(Suffering Servant); Mic. 5:2 (birth of Messiah); Jer. 
23:5-6 (Righteous Branch); Ezek. 34:23-24 (one shep- 
herd); Zech. 9:9, 12:10; Mai. 3:1; 4:5 (the coming Mes- 
senger and Elijah); Dan. 7:13 (Son of Man). 



SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP AND MESSIANIC HOPE 37 



The General Development of the Messianic Hope 

1. The messianic hope of the nation, in its early 
period, was merely hope for a better future — a golden age 
for the nation. The personal Messiah, when present at 
all, is not prominent in this period. 

2. Later the messianic hope included the nations of 
the world. The Jews looked for the universal kingdom 
in which all mankind, voluntarily or by compulsion, would 
be united under the sceptre of Israel. 

3. Then was developed the individualistic notion of 
the messianic hope. Not only Israel and the nations as 
such, but the individual, would be a prominent figure in 
the messianic era and share the blessings of the Messiah. 
Thus gradually was developed, by the prophets and the 
psalmists through the Holy Spirit, the full idea of the 
resurrection of all pious Israelites to share the blessings of 
the massianic kingdom. 

4. And this led to the development of the idea that 
the messianic era was separate from the present era. The 
coming age is eternal and blessed, while the present is 
full of woe and struggle. 

5. In the later period the massianic hope became dog- 
matized by the scribes ; that is, the scribes sought to elabor- 
ate a distinct system of messianic teachings, similar to the 
system of oral teachings on the law. Still there was great 
diversity of views on the messianic kingdom, person of the 
Messiah, the time, manner, place, and purpose of His 
coming. 

A Systematic Statement of the Literary Messianism 

1. A Period of Tribulation. As a prelude to the mes- 
sianic era the later Jews believed that there would come a 
period of tribulations and woes. The sun and moon must 
be darkened and all nature should be in confusion, while 
nations rise against each other in wars. 

2. Elijah Coming. Next they believed that Elijah 
would come as the harbinger of the golden age. This late 
expectation was based upon the prophecy of Malachi. 

3. Coming of the Messiah. Then shall appear the 
Messiah Himself, sometimes called the Elect, or the Son of 



38 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Man, the Son of Woman, or the Son of David, or even Son 
of God (in Enoch). But usually He is regarded merely as 
a human ruler, endowed by God with special gifts and pow- 
ers. His pre-existence is taught in Enoch 46:1-2; 48:3-7, 
etc.; also in 4th Ezra 12:32; 13:24. The time of His ap- 
pearing is variously computed, but usually supposed to be 
at the end of four thousand years. They divided history 
into periods of two thousand years each, ' two thousand 
without law, two thousand under law, and two thousand 
in the messianic reign. The coming of the Messiah was 
conditioned upon the repentance of the people, and was 
expected to be sudden. 

4. Opposition of the Heathen. When the Messiah 
comes the heathen powers shall be assembled to make a 
final attack upon Him, according to Enoch 90:18, 19, and 
Assumption of Moses 10; or the Messiah Himself shall 
destroy them, according to the Sybelline Oracles III. 652 
f f . ; Psalms of Solomon 17 ; Enoch 45 13 ; 46 :i, 4; 52 4-9, etc. 

5. The New Jerusalem. Jerusalem itself will be ren- 
ovated and the temple of the messianic kingdom, which 
kingdom, in the later literature, is called the New Jerusa- 
lem, will come down out of heaven ( Enoch 52:6; 90:28, 
29; 4th Ezra 7:26; 10:44-59; Apoc. of Bar. 4:2-6). 

6. Dispersed Jews Gathered Home. Then shall fol- 
low the gathering of the dispersed Jews to the Holy Land 
to share the blessings of the messianic kingdom (Psa. of 
Solomon 11:27, 28; 4th Ezra 13:29-47). At this time the 
kingdom of glory in Palestine, the center of the messianic 
kingdom in which God Himself shall rule supreme, is 
supposed to begin. To complete this glorious Palestinian 
kingdom, deceased Israelites, it is believed, shall rise 
from the dead and participate in its blessings ; in con- 
nection with which glorious kingdom, even the wolrd itself 
shall be renovated. 

7. Resurrection and Judgment. Afterwards shall fol- 
low the general resurrection of the dead and the last judg- 
ment, in which eternal salvation shall be the portion of 
the righteous, and condemnation that of the wicked (Apoc. 
Bar. 50; 4th Ezra 7^33-35)- 



SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP AND MESSIANIC HOPE 39 



The Literary and Popular Messianic Hope Contrasted 

What are the differences in the messianic hope enter- 
tained by the masses of the Jewish population and that 
described in the books of Jewish literature? We may say 
that the masses were looking for a political deliverer who 
should change the government so that Jews should govern 
themselves and not be dominated by Romans ; so that Jeru- 
salem and not Rome should become the center of the new 
kingdom. The religious element was not prominent in the 
messianic hope entertained by the masses, except in the 
form of religious fanaticism. The masses also expected 
that the enemies of the messianic kingdom would be put 
down, both by arms and miracles. They were looking for 
a universal empire, at the head of which stood the Jew- 
ish nation. 

On the other hand, the literary messianic hope, which 
is usually that entertained by the typical Pharisees, was 
more religious than that of the masses. The Pharisees 
were looking for a political and economic deliverer, but 
they also expected the Messiah to be a religious Redeemer. 

The Preaching of the Baptist 

While Palestine was a boiling pot of revolution, and 
while the Pharisees were looking for a politico-religious 
Redeemer to make Jerusalem the capital of the religious 
world and the Messiah the mighty universal King; and 
while the poor, toiling, burden-bearing masses were fanat- 
ically looking for a Redeemer, in whom were blended chief- 
ly the economic and political elements, but also a minimum 
of the religious, who would snap off the chains of Rome 
and fulfill the promises of the prophets to bless the right- 
eous even in the present days, a prophet dressed in camel's 
hair and fed on wild honey and locusts broke from the 
desert and, in the Jordan valley, began to shout: "Repent, 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It was John the 
Baptist who was sent from God to turn the nation to the 
true Messiah. The scribes and Pharisees, the rich and 
the poor, soldiers and quiet men of the farm-side, all went 
down to the Jordan to hear the voice of a genuine prophet 



40 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



once more. Many repented and believed and were baptized 
in the Jordan. 

Jesus and the Promised Messiah 

Six months after John had begun the proclamation of 
the kingdom of heaven, Jesus, feeling that the time had 
come for Him to begin His public ministry, walked from 
Nazareth to the Jordan valley, was baptized by John in 
the Jordan, and began His public ministry. The record 
of this ministry has been handed down to us in our four 
gospels, which we will discuss in the succeeding chap- 
ters. 



PART II 



Historic Books of the New Testament 



CHAPTER VI 

A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GOSPELS 

In the following chapters we shall emphasize the hu- 
man element in the New Testament. At the same time it 
is always taken for granted that the Spirit of God is at 
work dierctly in using and controlling all the human agen- 
cies treated in these chapters. The inspiration of the New 
Testament is heartily accepted by the author, although he 
is seeking to trace the history of the literature of the 
New Testament from the human point of view. We are 
trying to see the literary features of the gospels, but, at the 
same time, firmly believe that the hand of God is at 
work in leading the apostles and apostolic men in the com- 
position of these sublime books, which have done so much 
to shape the thought and history and civilization of the 
last nineteen centuries. 

i. General Characteristics. The four gospels are not 
written as biographies of Jesus. Not one of the four gos- 
pel writers sat down with the distinct purpose of writing 
a complete biography of the Nazarene ; the materials for 
a complete life of Christ are not found in any one of the 
four gospels, nor in all four of them combined. Luke 
comes the nearest to the writing of a complete biography of 
his Lord. But not even Luke may be justly called a biog- 
raphy. 

Nor are the gospels theological in their method of 
treatment. The writers did not produce these volumes 
to set forth the theology of Jesus. Both the ethical and 
theological teachings of Jesus must be culled from the 
gospels by the process of selection. Each writer has either 
an apologetic or a practical purpose; that is, the writers 



42 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



produced these gospels to secure practical ends in the lives 
of the early disciples and the progress of the early church. 
Sometimes, as in Matthew and John, the apologetic ele- 
ment is prominent; that is, the writer seeks to prove to his 
readers the messiahship or divine sonship of Jesus. So 
as we come to study these great writings we must bear in 
mind these general literary characteristics and not expect 
to find in them either a complete biography or a sys- 
tematic theological or ethical system. 

The Synoptic Gospels 

It does not require a critical reading of the first three 
gospels to impress one with their remarkable concordances 
and differences. Note the following points: 

1. The Name Synoptic as Applied to These Gospels. 
This striking agreement between Matthew, Mark, and 
Luke, in the matter treated, its order of arrangement, and 
in the words used, gives rise to the use of the term synop- 
tic in describing these gospels. The word means that there 
is a similar view taken by all three writers in their record 
of the life and teachings of Jesus. 

2. As to Subject Matter. Matthew, Mark and Luke 
exhibit a remarkable agreement as to the scenes described 
and teachings recorded. There are dozens and scores of 
paragraphs in these gospels which treat exactly the same 
event, or record the same teaching, from the life of Jesus. 

3. As to Order. These gospels also reveal a strik- 
ing agreement as to the order in which they record es- 
pecially the events in the life of Jesus. We notice there 
is not so close an agreement as to the order in which they 
record the teachings. The agreement is mainly in the 
narative portions. It is to be noted that Mark and Luke 
agree more closely in their chronological order than do 
Mark and Matthew, or Matthew and Luke. There are thir- 
teen sections in Matthew (4:23; 13:55) in which Mark and 
Luke agree against Matthew as to the order of narrative 
and discourse. It is a remarkable coincidence that Mat- 
thew and Luke never agree against Mark in the order of 
events. 



A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GOSPELS 



43 



4. As to Words and Their Order. Often in the sim- 
ple narratives of the first three gospels we observe a strik- 
ing agreement as to words used ; sometimes,, as to the exact 
order of the words. Two. and sometimes three, writers 
use almost exactly the same words in narrating the same 
event or reporting the same discourse. Observe the strik- 
ing illustration of this verbal agreement in Matt. 3:7-10. as 
compared with Luke 3 :j-o. These sections in the first and 
third gospels are a part of the description of the ministry 
of John. The words in the Greek are almost the same in 
both gospels, and they are translated into English by al- 
most the same words. There is another striking illustra- 
tion of this verbal agreement in Mark 2:18-22. compared 
with Matt. 9:14-17. These instances of exact verbal agree- 
ment are few. 

Differences in the Synoptic Gospels 

Just as we observed above that even the casual reader 
would note striking agreements in the narratives and rec- 
ords of the first three gospels, we now call attention to the 
fact that the same reader would also be struck with just 
as striking differences in these first three gospels. 

1. As to Matter. We notice that in the first two 
chapters of Matthew all the material is peculiar to him- 
self. These are the chapters in which Matthew describes 
the scenes of Jesus' nativity. Luke, also, in his first two 
chapters, tells the thrilling story of the birth, infancy, and 
boyhood of Jesus. But the two writers scarcely duplicate 
a single event in these early scenes in the life of Jesus. 
In the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew, we 
find a splendid collection of Jesus' sayings, which we 
commonly call the Sermon on the Mount. This address 
is not recorded in Mark at all, and Luke records only a 
portion of it. while he makes many additions to the ad- 
dress, not recorded by Matthew. The great parable chap- 
ter in Matthew is almost entirely peculiar to him. but 
Chapters XIV to XXVIII contain only a few minor de- 
tails that are peculiar to Matthew, e. g., the paragraphs 
about the church and the Great Commission. When we 
come to study the gospel of Luke closely, we will find that 



44 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



he has the greatest amount of matter that does not occur 
in the other gospels. The great central portion of his 
gospel (9:51 to 19:14) is not found in Matthew or Mark. 
There are also many bits of narrative in the last chapters of 
Luke about the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, 
which do not occur in the other gospels. He alone tells the 
story of the penitent thief on the cross. 

2. As to Words Used. There is often a remarkable 
difference in the three writers when reporting the same 
event or the same discourse. It is a remarkable fact, how- 
ever, that there are not so many verbal differences in the 
record of Christ's discourses as in the description of the 
events in His life. This may be explained as due to the 
providence of God and the guidance of the Spirit. There 
seems to have been a special divine Providence controlling 
the thinking and composition of these men, as they record 
the wonderful saying of Jesus. His teachings must be 
preserved. On the other hand, we must remember that 
there is always a personal element in the composition of 
each gospel. Each writer has his own personal diction and 
style. This is perfectly natural. It would be almost in- 
credible for three men, equally intelligent and honest, to 
narrate the same event or repeat the same message without 
showing their personal tastes and peculiarities. Such men 
would tell the heart of the story with a remarkable agree- 
ment, but the details would differ according to their per- 
sonal viewpoint. God could have annihilated these per- 
sonal peculiarities in the gospel writers, if He had chosen 
so to do; but it is a plain literary fact on the very face 
of these gospels that each writer was left by the Spirit 
to choose his own words in narrating the events, and to 
some extent even in recording the teachings, of Jesus' 
life. The personal, verbal, and stylistic peculiarities of 
these men had opportunity for showing greater differences 
in that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, and this gave greater room 
for variety in words and phrases. 

3. As to Grammatical Constructions. Each writer is 
also left to his own personal preference as to the construc- 
tions used in telling the story of Jesus' life, and in the 



A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GOSPELS 



45 



record of His teachings. As an example, in the Greek 
language there are about ten ways of expressing pur- 
pose. Now Matthew, Mark, and Luke are left perfectly 
free to choose whichever one of these constructions best 
suits his literary tastes. There are many other*construc- 
tions which exhibit almost as much latitude in the matter 
of expressing the same thought. It is to be noted that 
this diversity of construction in expressing the thought 
or narrating the event does not at all destroy the essential 
identity of the fact or thought to be expressed. 

Theories for Explaining the Synoptic Gospels 

1. The Oral Tradition Theory. This theory has been 
held for a long time by conservative New Testament schol- 
ars. The theory is expressed as follows: The early dis- 
ciples had nothing but the oral gospel; that is, for three 
or four decades after Christ's resurrection, they received 
the gospel story as it was told to them from mouth to 
mouth. According to this theory, this oral tradition, be- 
ing repeated so often and with such a faithful exactness, 
gradually assumed a fixity of form. And this fixity helps 
to explain the agreement between the three writers. The 
differences found in the oral tradition are to be explained 
by the fact that the stories were told by so many differ- 
ent persons in various places and under so many dif- 
ferent circumstances. This theory has found great cham- 
pions in Westcott and Wright. 

2. Theory of Interdependence. According to this 
theory one of the three writers wrote first, basing his gos- 
pel largely upon tradition, but the other two, coming after 
him, used his material in the composition of their gospels. 
This theory was first held by Augustine, who regarded 
Matthew as the first of the three synoptic gospels, and who 
named Mark the "copyist and abbreviator of Matthew." 
In modern times New Testament scholars have turned the 
theory of Augustine completely around. It is now com- 
monly held that Mark was the original gospel, and that 
Matthew and Luke followed him. 

3. Documentary Theory. This theory holds that the 
three gospel writers had in hand some common sources and 



46 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



some different sources which they used in the composition 
of their gospels. The agreements are explained on the 
ground that they are taken from the common documents, 
and the differences on the basis that they are selected from 
different documents. 

4. The Most Probable Theory. It can scarcely be 
proved that any single one of these three theories is an 
adequate explanation of the agreements and differences 
found in the first three gospels. The oral-tradition theory 
could scarcely explain all the minor agreements of Matt. 
3:7-10, as paralleled by Luke 3:7-9. It is almost incredible 
that these men should tell the story with such remarkable 
likeness in words and phrases unless there was something 
written lying before them. On the other hand, as to the 
second theory, it cannot be shown that any one of the gos- 
pels was copied from the other; nor will the documentary 
theory explain all the differences. The best explanation is 
that Mark wrote his gospel first, basing it on Peter's 
preaching, according to Papias, Irenseus, and other Chris- 
tian writers of the Second Century. Then the Apostle Mat- 
thew wrote his Logia, or saying of Christ, as Papias tells 
us, about the year 40, during his missionary journeys. Mat- 
thew probably wrote down these sayings in the Aramaic 
several years before Mark composed his gospel. After 
Mark had written his gospel, Matthew then composed our 
first gospel, basing it, in the main, on his own Logia and the 
gospel of Mark. Perhaps he also used Christian tradition. 
He might have had some other written sources before him. 
Then Luke composed his gospel, basing it on Mark, Mat- 
thew's Logia, and other sources. 

The Relation of John to the First Three Gospels 

We notice, in comparing the fourth gospel with the 
first three, that there are both remarkable correspondences 
and quite as striking differences. Let us glance first at 
the differences: 

1. The Scene of Operations. The scene of Jesus' op- 
erations in the synoptic gospels is outside Judea, but in 
Judea as recorded by John. Of course the scene is the 
same in the last week. 



A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GOSPELS 



47 



2. The Length of Christ's Ministry. There is an 
apparent difficulty as to the length of Christ's ministry. 
John mentions at least four, and maybe five, passovers. 
This is only an apparent difficulty. The synoptists, by 
omitting Jesus' work in Jerusalem and Judea and at the 
feasts, make the impression that all Jesus' public life and 
words are crowded into one year, but really they do not 
mean to do so. 

3. Different Discourses and Events, John tells many 
different discourses and events not in the synoptic gospels, 
particularly the splendid discourses at the feasts in Jeru- 
salem, and especially the beautiful farewell discourse re- 
corded in John 14-17. But it is well to remember that, 
while there are ninety-six paragraphs of various lengths 
peculiar to John, there are seventy-two peculiar to Luke 
and sixty-seven peculiar to Matthew. Therefore, the 
synoptists, taken as a whole, contain thirty-eight more 
peculiar paragraphs than John. 

4. John's Omissions. Again, John omits many things 
that are of capital importance in the synoptic gospels : the 
miraculous birth (but implied in 1:14), the infancy and 
youth of Jesus, other family history, the genealogy, early 
ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, the im- 
prisonment and death of John the Baptist (the last two 
hinted), the temptation, transfiguration (at which John 
was present), the institution of the supper, the agony in 
Gethsemane. On the other hand, many of these scenes 
are implied or hinted at in John. 

5. Different Personnel. There is a different per- 
sonnel in John : Nathaniel (likely Bartholemew of the 
synoptists), Nicodemus in a new light, the woman of 
Samaria, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus made prominent. Yet, 
the majority of the persons mentioned by the synoptists 
are also met in John: The Baptist (though at a somewhat 
different angle), Mary the mother of Jesus (though not 
named), Peter, Caiaphas, Pilate, and others. 



48 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



The Correspondence Between John and the First Three 

Gospels 

1. Outline. As to the broad outline of the life of 
Jesus: His name is the same, Jesus; the place of His early 
residence, Nazareth; his family; Capernaum, the place 
of His main activities; His mastery over the material 
elements and forces of nature ; the entrance into Jerusalem 
at the time of the last Passover; the scenes of His trial; 
the denials by Peter; the conduct of Pilate; the title and 
accusation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, all bear 
striking resemblence in the synoptists and John. 

2. Character of Jesus. The character of our Lord 
is really identical in the two accounts. It is true that the 
synoptists hold back the higher expression of His char- 
acter until the close of His ministry, while John begins 
with the Logos pre-existing with God, and represents 
Him as announcing His messiahship early in His ministry, 
but only to the Samaritan woman. 

3. Detailed Correspondences. Besides, there are nu- 
merous detailed correspondences between the synoptic 
and Johannine records : feeding the five thousand, and 
triumphal entry into Jerusalem, etc. 

4. Proverbial Sayings. Many proverbial sayings of 
Jseus are the same in both John and the synoptists. Com- 
pare John 4:44 with Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; 
also John 12:25 with Matt. 10:24 and Luke 6:40. 



CHAPTER VII 



MATTHEW 

In our discussion of the gospels separately we shall 
follow the order preserved in our New Testament canon. 
We are aware that this is not the chronological order. As 
suggested above, Mark wrote his gospel first, and Matthew 
followed Him in just a few years. 

The Writer 

As to who composed our first gospel, there are three 
common theories held by modern New Testament scholars. 

1. Matthew the Apostle. This view is held by nearly 
all conservative scholars. The same Matthew that wrote 
the Logia in Aramaic, afterwards composed our present 
gospel of Matthew in Greek. According to this theory 
we have not only an apostolic groundwork, but also apos- 
tolic authorship for our first gospel. 

2. Some Unknown Disciple of Matthew. A large 
number of New Testament scholars belonging to the medi- 
ating school of critics claim that some unknown disciple 
of the Apostle Matthew used his master's Logia, or col- 
lection of sayings of Jesus in Aramaic, written by the 
Apostle Matthew, and composed our present Matthew in 
Greek. They account, for its being called the Gospel ac- 
cording to Matthew, not on the ground of its being Mat- 
thew's composition, but on the ground that the Logia of 
Matthew is the main source from which the writer selected 
his material. 

3. A Second Century Christian. The modern school 
of most radical critics go further than those holding the 
last theory and claim that the gospel was written as late 
as the Second Century, by some Second Century Chris- 
tian, who was not necessarily a disciple of Matthew. The 
writer of our present Matthew, according to this theory, 
was not really the author but only the compiler. He sim- 
ply selected and compiled from various sources the ma- 
terial of our present Matthew. The compiler is thought 
to have added much material in the way of theological 



SO NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



reflections, which he did not find in his original sources. 
It is thought that the compiler either assumed the name 
of Matthew, or that it was so named by early Christians, 
in order to give it authority in the churches. 

4. The Probable Author. As to the third theory, the 
burden of proof rests entirely upon those holding it. They 
have never yet produced sufficient evidence to convince 
any large portion of modern New Testament scholars that 
our first gospel is either a pseudonymous production or 
merely a compilation. The early testimony is all against 
such an assumption. Before we can accept such a theory, 
its advocates must prove beyond the shadow of a doubt 
that our first gospel is either pseudonymous or a mere 
compilation ; that is, composed by a Second Century writer 
who used Matthew's name for the sake of authority; or 
it was put together by a compiler who assembled frag- 
ments from various quarters with personal interpolations 
added. As to the second theory, there is no evidence in 
the early Christian literature that our first gospel was 
written by a disciple of Matthew, just as our second gos- 
pel was written by Mark, a disciple of the Apostle Peter. 
If there were evidence for this view, the theory itself need 
not be incongruous with the inspiration of the gospel, for 
the Spirit could have led a disciple of Matthew to write 
this gospel just as easily as He could have led the Apostle 
Matthew himself. But both the external and the internal 
evidence converges favorably upon the first theory. The 
most ancient Christian writers, Papias, Irenaeus, Tertul- 
lian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Jerome, Epiphanius, 
and others, all point to the Apostle Matthew as the real 
author of our first gospel. The internal evidence is in 
harmony with this external evidence. The historical ref- 
erences, the touches upon Jewish customs, life and thought, 
and especially the Hebraic character of the quotations 
(particularly those quoted by the writer himself), are all 
best explained by accepting the early Christian traditions 
that the Apostle Matthew, a native Jew, wrote this gospel. 
Again, there is such a uniformity in the use of words and 
phrases and in the literary style itself throughout the 



MATTHEW 



51 



gospel, that it is well nigh impossible to suppose that a 
mere compiler loosely gathered together from various 
sources the mass of material of the first gospel. 

The Sources 

From what sources did the author derive the historical 
material used for the composition of his gospel? 

1. Mark's Gospel. The backbone of Matthew's gos- 
pel is found in our gospel of Mark, and it is very probable 
that Matthew had this primitive gospel of Mark, which 
reproduces the teachings of the Apostle Peter, before him 
when he composed his gospel. There are scarcely any 
narratives in Matthew's gospel (excepting the first two 
chapters) which are not found in Mark's gospel. 

2. The Logia. For the teachings of our Lord, Mat- 
thew relied largely upon his own Logia, a collection of 
the sayings of Jesus which he had formerly written down 
in Aramaic. He had probably used this collection of 
Christ's sayings in his own missionary journey as he 
preached and taught. 

3. Oral Tradition. It is not possible to decide def- 
initely, from the literary character of the first two chap- 
ters, whether Matthew used a document or merely drew 
from early Christian traditions. The evidence for a writ- 
ten source in these two chapters is not strong. It is almost 
certain that these stories about the infancy of our Lord 
were handed down by Mary and her intimate friends, in 
the form of tradition. 

The Purpose 

Why did Matthew write this account of Jesus' life 
and teachings? Was not Mark's account of the Wonder- 
worker sufficient? There seem to be three distinct lines 
of design in the composition of this gospel. 

1. Apologetic. That is, Matthew wrote his gospel to 
convince his readers that Jesus of Nazareth is the prom- 
ised Messiah. These readers were likely Jewish Chris- 
tians who needed to be strengthened in the faith of the 
Messiah. Their Jewish friends also might be won to the 
Christian faith. Even in the genealogy given by Matthew 



52 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



we see his design. Here Matthew traces the pedigree of 
Jesus back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish race, 
through David, from whom all Jews believed the Messiah 
must descend. Furthermore, Matthew records many say- 
ings and parables of Jesus about the kingdom, a messianic 
concept familiar to the Jews. John the Baptist came 
preaching "the kingdom of heaven." Jesus began His 
ministry by announcing the coming of the kingdom, and 
continued to preach and speak parables about the kingdom. 
Hence, we are safe in asserting that Matthew wrote this 
story of Jesus' life and teachings to prove to his Jewish 
readers that Jesus of Nazareth, in spite of His rejection 
by the nation at large, was the real Messiah. 

2. A Practical Aim. Matthew also wrote with a prac- 
tical aim, namely, to encourage the readers to hold on to 
their faith to the end. Even amid the horrors of war 
now being visited upon Palestine, they must remain loyal 
to the Nazarene as God's promised Messiah. The Jewish 
Christians in and around Palestine were persecuted, and 
so Matthew writes to cheer their hearts and increase their 
faith in the Messiah. He puts emphasis upon the won- 
derful statement of Jesus, "He that endureth to the end, 
the same shall be saved" (Matt. 10:22). 

3. Christianity a World-Wide Religion. Matthew 
also wrote to show that, inasmuch as the Jews had rejected 
the Messiah, Christianity had become a world-wide re- 
ligion. In Matthew we find many touches of the univer- 
sality of Christianity. "Many shall come from the East 
and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham and 
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (8:11-12). At 
the end of the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, Mat- 
thew records the saying of Jesus, which Mark omits, 
'Therefore, I say unto you that the kingdom of God 
shall be taken away from you and given to a nation bring- 
ing forth the fruits thereof." Again, in the Great Com- 
mission, Matthew records Jesus' saying, "Go, make dis- 
ciples of all the nations," which shows the world-wide 
mission of Christianity. 



MATTHEW 



S3 



Date, Place and Readers Addressed 

1. Date. As to the date, most of the radical critics 
would place Matthew as late as the Second Century. This 
late date is assigned largely because of the marks of ec- 
clesiasticism in the book (as they claim), the word church 
occurring only in this gospel. They also claim that the 
references in 22:7 to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 
A. D. require a date subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem. 
This supposition implies a denial that Jesus could pre- 
dict future events. The external and internal evidence 
both suggest a date prior to the fall of Jerusalem. Such 
expressions as the "holy city," the "holy place," the "City 
of the Great King," suggest that the city was still stand- 
ing when the gospel was written. A stronger proof of 
the early date is in the caution expressed by the writer in 
24:15-17. It would have been preposterous for the writer 
to have inserted this caution as to how they might escape 
when they saw the Roman armies in the holy place, if he 
was writing after the Romans had taken the city. An- 
other forceful argument that Matthew was written prior 
to 70, is the fact that the eschatological discourse in chap- 
ters 24 and 25 places side by side the destruction of Jeru- 
salem and the second coming of Christ. This is done so 
perfectly that even a keen interpreter like John A. 
Broadus concedes that it is almost impossible to separate 
the words of Jesus about the fall of Jerusalem from those 
concerning His final coming. Surely, if Matthew had 
been writing after the fall, the references to these two 
events would have been more clearly stated. So we would 
place the date at 65-70 A. D. 

2. Place and Readers. The place of composition 
was either Palestine or Southern Syria. Since the writer 
in 9:26-31 refers to Palestine as "that land," it would seem 
that the gospel was not written in Palestine. The fact 
that the Aramaic was the language of Palestine is also 
against Palestine as the place of composition. The state- 
ment in Matthew 4:24 that the report of Jesus went forth 
into Syria, while Mark simply says it went forth into 
all Galilee round about, favors Southern Syria as the place 
of composition and Jews living in Syria as the readers 



54 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



addressed. Also a statement in Matthew that Jesus went 
into "Tyre and Sidon," while Mark merely says that He 
"went into the borders of Tyre'' (according to best Mss.), 
also favors the same conclusion. Again, the many explana- 
tions of Aramaic words is against the theory that the 
readers were Palestinian Jews. They would know the 
meaning of Aramaic words, while foreign Jews, who 
learned from infancy to speak Greek, would not know 
Aramaic words. Hence, the internal evidence favors the 
supposition that the readers were hellenistic Jews, prob- 
ably living in Syria. 

The Original Language 

One of the early Christian writers, Papias, says : "Mat- 
thew then composed the Logia (Oracles) in the Hebrew 
tongue, and every one interpreted them as he was able." 
The question that arises here, is, Was the Logia referred 
to by Papias as having been written in the Hebrew tongue 
our present Matthew? In answer to this question we have 
the unmistakable evidence that the early Greek and Latin 
fathers regarded our gospel of Matthew as a Greek gos- 
pel. Irenaeus, Origen, and Jerome agree with Papias 
in referring to a Hebrew composition by the Apostle Mat- 
thew, but not one of the early Christian writers gives any 
evidence that he ever knew or read or quoted from the 
Hebrew Matthew. Therefore, it is likely that the Logia 
referred to by Papias and others, as written by Matthew 
in Hebrew, was not our present Matthew but merely a 
collection of the sayings of Christ written down in He- 
brew or Aramaic by Matthew several years before the 
composition of his gospel. But might not our present 
Greek gospel be a translation of an original Hebrew gos- 
pel by Matthew? It is scarcely conceivable that our 
Greek gospel is merely a translation of an original Hebrew 
composition. Although there are marked Jewish charac- 
teristics in this gospel, yet the linguistic marks of its 
composition point to the fact that it was originally written 
in Greek. Matthew is not translation Greek, as is the 
Septuagint, since it has no marks of translation Greek in 
which the latter abounds. 



MATTHEW 



55 



The Characteristics 

As to the characteristics of our first gospel we note 
the three following considerations : 

1. Its Material. As intimated above, Matthew nar- 
rates the story of the annunciation, birth, and infancy of 
Jesus, all of which is omitted in Mark and given differ- 
ently in Luke. Matthew describes the ministry of John 
much more minutely than Mark but omits some details 
recorded by Luke. He gives three temptations just as 
Luke does, which are wanting in Mark, although Matthew 
and Luke reverse the order of the second and third tempta- 
tions. Matthew carefully records the addresses of Jesus, 
also many parables of the Galilean period. He gives the 
Sermon on the Mount where Luke records the Sermon in 
the Plain. Much of the matter in Matthew is recorded 
in Luke VI as being reproduced in the Sermon in the 
Plain. He records the address of Jesus to the apostles 
as He sent them forth into the Galilean ministry (chapter 
10), only frag'ments of which occur in Mark and Luke. 
The first gospel writer collects seven of the parables on 
the kingdom, in one chapter (13), while Mark gives only 
two, one of them peculiar to himself (chapter 4). As to 
the Perean ministry, Matthew follows Mark* except he 
adds the parable of the Laborers and tells of the two blind 
men of Jericho instead of one, Bartimseus, who is men- 
tioned by Mark. But Matthew omits all those beautiful 
parables and those most charming scenes of the Perean 
ministry recorded by Luke in the center of his gospel 
(9:51-19:14). As to the last week in Jerusalem, Matthew 
follows rather closely but omits some of the events given 
by Luke. Nor is his account of the eappearances of the 
risen Christ so full as Luke's. The first gospel also 
abounds in quotations from the Old Testament, which are 
not found in the other gospels. In all, there are forty-five 
such quotations, thirty-four from the language of Jesus, 
which are usually from the Septuagint. It is to be noted, 
however, that he gives a few of these quotations from the 
Hebrew, and thus shows a knowledge of that language. 

2. Order of Material. In this respect, Matthew is 



56 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



more logical than chronological. He does not seek to 
follow the order in which the events took place, and it 
is possible that many of the teachings of Jesus, which 
Matthew throws together, were spoken by Jesus on dif- 
ferent occasions. This is possibly true of the seven par- 
ables found in the thirteenth chapter. Jesus probably did 
not speak all seven of these parables on one occasion, nor 
in the order in which Matthew records them. Likely the 
same is true as to the Sermon on the Mount. It was prob- 
ably delivered by Jesus after the appointment of the 
apostles, and thus served in the actual life of Christ as 
a kind of introduction to His public ministry in Galilee. 
As hinted above, Matthew gives the order of the second 
and third temptations differently from that found in Luke. 
Matthew also changes Mark's order of many of the events 
found in the Galilean ministry. As to the last week in 
Jerusalem, Matthew closely follows the order found in 
Mark's narrative. 

3. Its Spirit. The first gospel is intensely Jewish. 
The writer traces the pedigree of Jesus only to Abraham, 
the father of the Jewish nation. Jesus is represented as 
saying that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house 
of Israel. The writer characteristically refers to Jeru- 
salem as the Holy City. He usually speaks of the king- 
dom as the kingdom of heaven, which is a distinctively 
Jewish mark. On the other hand, there is a beautiful 
universal note in this gospel. Jesus tells the Jews that 
many shall come from the East and the West and sit down 
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of 
heaven, while the Jews shall be cast out. Jesus is also 
represented as asserting in one of the late parables that 
the kingdom should be taken from the Jewish nation and 
given to a nation bringing forth fruits worthy of such 
exalted privileges. In the Great Commission, Matthew 
tells us that Christ reaches the climax of this universal 
note when He tells that their mission is to all the nations. 
Notwithstanding these two radically different character- 
istics in our first gospel, yet it is easy to see that the two 
are harmoniously blended by the writer. 



MATTHEW 



57 



4. Its Diction. The writer of the first gospel ex- 
hibits a marked shortening of the narratives as compared 
with Mark's. This can be illustrated from many of the 
stories in the gospel. In giving the account of the healing 
of the Gadarene demoniac, Mark uses three hundred and 
twenty-five words, Luke two hundred and ninety-three, 
and Matthew only one hundred and thirty-six. A similar 
proportion of abbreviations is found in Matthew, in his 
account of the feeding of the five thousand, the curing 
of the lunatic boy, and many other similar events in the 
life of Jesus. 

5. Its Numerical Arrangement. The first gospel 
writer also shows some fondness for numerical arrange- 
ment of his material after the Jewish fashion. He gives 
the pedigree of Jesus in forty-two generations, dividing 
them into three fourteens or three double sevens. The 
other numbers specially used by Matthew are seven and 
ten. There are seven petitions in the model prayer, three 
external duties of alms-giving, prayer, and fasting (chap- 
ter 7). As seen above, there are seven parables collected 
in chapter 13. According to the best manuscripts, there 
are seven woes recorded in chapter 23. There are three 
weightier matters of the law as recorded in 23:23 (see 
Luke 11:42 for a different statement). There are ten 
miracles recorded by Matthew in the two chapters 8 and 9. 
On the other hand, we must not press this matter of nu- 
merical arrangement too far, for Luke has three tempta- 
tions, and Mark tells of three prayers in Gethsemane. 

6. Tendency to Set Formulas. There is a marked 
tendency in Matthew, which is not found in Mark or Luke, 
to use certain well known formulas, such as "offspring of 
vipers," "in whom I am well pleased," "the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand," "there shall be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth," etc., etc. x 

General Outline 

I. Infancy of Jesus (Chaps. 1 and 2). 

In these chapters Matthew gives the genealogy, the annunciation 
to Joseph, birth of Jesus, visit of the magi, flight into Egypt, 
massacre of the innocents by Herod, and the settlement of Joseph 
in Nazareth, 



58 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



II. Preparation for the Public Ministry (3:1-4:11). 

1. The ministry of John (3:1-12). 

2. The baptism of Jesus (3:13-17). 

3. The temptation of Jesus (4:1-11). 

III. The Galilean Ministry (4:12-18:57). 

1. Begun by Christ's making Capernaum His headquarters 
(4:12-16). 

2. Jesus begins to preach (4:17). 

3. Calls to service four fishermen (4:18-22). 

4. His popularity spreads to Syria (4:23-25). 

5. Sermon on the Mount. Theme: The Ideal Life or True Right- 
eousness. 

(a) Its characteristics set forth in the beatitudes (5:3-12). 

(b) The world-wide mission of the kingdom members 
(5:13-16). 

(c) This righteousness compatible with Old Testament 
teaching, being really the rounding out of the same 
(5:17-20). 

(d) This ideal life expressing itself (5:21-7:12). 

(1) In forgiveness, love and suffering the loss of prop- 
erty and rights (5:21-26). 

(2) In purity of heart (adultery rooting in the evil 
desire and fornication the only ground of divorce) 
(5:27-32). 

(3) In simple speaking of the truth without oaths 
(5:31-37). 

(4) In the spirit of non-retaliation (5:38-42). 

(5) In universal love (5:43-48). 

(6) In three acts of worship, almsgiving, praying and 
fasting (6:1-18). 

(7) In devotion and trust (6:19-34). 

(8) Not in censoriousness towards others, but in prayer 
to God (7:1-12). 

(e) The duty of attaining this ideal life (7:13-27). 

(f) The effect of this sermon on the hearers (7:28). 

6. The ten miracles of messianic power (Chaps. 8 and 9). 

7. The apostles chosen and charged (Chap. 10). 

8. Further teaching and parables, and opposition to Christ 
(Chaps. 11-13). 

9. Antipas uneasy on account of Christ's miracles (14:1-12). 
10. Climax of the Galilean ministry (14:13-18:35). 

(a) He feeds the five thousand, walks upon the sea, and 
crosses to Gennesaret (14:13-36). 

(b) Defilement inner and not external (15:1-20). 

(c) Jesus retires to the north, heals the demonized girl, 
returns to Galilee, and feeds the four thousand 
(15:21-29). 

(d) Refuses to give sign, is confessed as the Son of God, 
fortells His death and resurrection (Chap. 16). 

(e) He is transfigured, heals the epileptic, again foretells 
His death, pays the temple tax (Chap. 17). 

(f) Teaches that love and humility are the great graces 

in the kingdom (Chap. 18). 

IV. The Perean Ministry (Chaps. 19 and 20). 

1. "Various teachings about divorce, riches, etc. (Chap. 19). 

2. Gives the parable of The Laborers, again foretells His death, 
heals two blind men (Chap. 20). 

V. The Last Week in Jerusalem (Chaps. 21-27). 

1. Jesus proclaims Himself the nation's Messiah (Chap. 21). 

2. He outdoes His enemies who seek to trap Him (Chap. 22). 

3. He denounces the Pharisees and laments over Jerusalem 
(Chap. 23). 

4. He gives the eschatological discourse, tells of the seige of 



MATTHEW 59 



Jerusalem and His second coming, and gives three parables 
on the judgment (Chaps. 24 and 25). 
5. He is arrested, tried before Caiaphas and Pilate, dies on the 
cross, and is buried in Joseph's tomb (Chaps. 26 and 27). 
VI. His Resurrection and the Forty Days Afterwards (Chap. 28). 

1. He appears to the two Marys (28:1-10). 

2. The Sanhedrin claims His disciples stole His body (28:11-15). 

3. He appears to the eleven and gives the Great Commission 
(28:16-20). 



CHAPTER VIII 



MARK 

In our New Testament canon, the second gospel is 
called the Gospel According to Mark. As already intimated 
above, we are following this order in treating the gospels 
simply because it seems to be more convenient to take 
them in the order in which we find them in our Bibles. 

The Writer 

Who wrote our second gospel? The best and oldest 
manuscripts call it the "Gospel According to Mark." In 
consideration of the second gospel, there is no intricate 
problem as to the authorship as we found in our consid- 
eration of the first gospel. Practically all New Testament 
scholars regard John Mark, who is mentioned nine times 
in the New Testament, as the author of this gospel. He is 
sometimes called Mark, at other times John, and occasion- 
ally John Mark. There is scarcely any doubt that all 
these references are to the same person. (Acts 12:12, 25; 
13 113, 37, 39; Col. 4:10; II Tim. 4:11; Phil. 24; I Pet. 
5:i3.) ^ 

But who is John Mark? He was the cousin of Barna- 
bas. He went forth with Paul and Barnabas on the first 
portion of their first missionary tour, but for some untold 
reason deserted them as they approached Asia Minor. 
When Paul and Barnabas were arranging for the second 
missionary journey, John Mark became the occasion of a 
sharp dispute between the two missionary leaders. Be- 
cause of this dispute, they finally separated, Mark going 
with Barnabas after his rejection by Paul, and Silas going 
out with Paul on his second journey. Later in his life 
he joins the Apostle Paul in sending greetings to the 
Colossians (Col. 4:10 ff). Later still, Paul beseeches Tim- 
othy to bring Mark along with him to Rome (II Tim. 
4:11). Peter, also, in writing his first letter, alludes to 
Mark as "my son," which means that Mark was converted 
under the preaching of Peter. Mark is also mentioned 
several times by the early Christian writers. He is nearly 



MARK 



61 



always associated by them with the preaching of Peter 
and the authorship of the second gospel. Hence, there 
can be little doubt that John Mark is the author of our 
second gospel. 

The Source 

As just intimated, these early Christian writers often 
associate Mark with the preaching of Peter and some- 
times positively assert that this gospel is based upon the 
preaching of Peter the Apostle. A few modern New Test- 
ament scholars. YVendt, Weiss., and others, think that they 
can detect another source of apostolic teaching than 
Peter's in the gospel of Mark. But even Schmiedel, one 
of the most radical critics of the age. admits that Peter's 
preaching was the source of Mark's gospel. This conclu- 
sion is based on the testimony of the early Christian 
writers. Papias.. about the close of the first quarter of the 
Second Century, speaks of Mark as Peter's interpreter. 
This probably means that Mark interpreted Peter's Ara- 
maic addresses to his Greek audiences. Papias further- 
more says that Mark wrote down accurately all those 
things that he remembered or mentioned (the Greek word 
having either sense). John Mark seems not to have heard 
the Lord himself, but he did receive his material from 
Peter the Apostle. To this material he neither added, 
nor from it did he subtract, according to the testimony 
of Papias. Irenseus. toward the close of the Second Cen- 
tury, also testifies that Mark was a disciple and inter- 
preter of Peter, and that he committed to writing the sub- 
stance of his preaching. Clement of Alexandria testifies 
to essentially the same thing. Tertullian. about the same 
time, in his treatise against Marcion. writes: "Mark's gos- 
pel might be affirmed to be the gospel of Peter." Origen, 
the scholar and theologian of Alexandria at the beginning 
of the Third Century, also testifies that Mark wrote his 
gospel as Peter directed. 

Occasion and Purpose 
i. Occasion. Why did John Mark write this graphic 
account of Jesus' life and works? There are various an- 



62 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



swers. There was no impetus to him to write because 
somebody else had written, because, as intimated above, 
Mark writes the first gospel. The most probable answer 
as to the occasion of his writing, is that given by Clement 
of Alexandria, who says that the disciples in Rome re- 
quested Mark to write. These Christians in Rome knew 
of Peter's gospel and also knew that John Mark had been 
a constant disciple and interpreter of the Apostle. So they 
asked him to write down in a connected narrative the 
substance of Peter's preaching. 

2. Purpose. Various theories have been advanced by 
New Testament scholars concerning the chief design of 
Mark in writing this gospel. Bauer and the Tubingen 
school claim that it was written for "doctrinal" purposes. 
They suppose that Mark wrote to mediate between the 
Gentile, or Pauline, Christians and the Petrine, or Jew- 
ish, Christians. In answer it may be said that the apolo- 
getic element is not so evident in the second gospel as 
in the first. Mark writes his gospel for the following 
purpose: (i) To tell the simple story of the things ac- 
tually occurring in the life of Jesus. He desired to show 
his readers the ceaseless work of Jesus the wonder-worker. 
(2) Pie has also a didactic aim, for he writes to prove to 
his readers by these wonderful works that Jesus is the 
Messiah. (3) But more prominent still is his practical 
aim to incite his Christian readers to greater spiritual 
activities, by a graphic delineation of the beautiful life 
and benevolent works of Jesus. 

Date and Place of Composition 

1. The Date. It is not definitely known at exactly 
what date Mark was written. Some, among them Euse- 
bius, the early church historian, say at about 40-43. Scarcely 
any modern scholars place the date later than the fall of 
Jerusalem, 70 A. D. The most probable date is about 
63-65. 

2. The Place of Composition. According to Clement 
of Alexandria, Eusebius, Jerome, Epiphanius, and others, 
Mark was written at Rome. There is absolutely nothing 



MARK 



63 



in early Christian literature to confirm the theory of Lard- 
ner and Eichhorn that the gospel was published both in 
Rome and in Alexandria in separate editions. Nor is there 
any evidence that Mark wrote his gospel in Egypt, while 
on an evangelistic tour to that country. 

The First Readers 

There has always been some doubt as to exactly who 
are the readers addressed. The book itself clearly points 
to the fact that Mark had in mind Gentile rather than 
Jewish readers. For instance, there are many Aramaic 
words in the gospel, as Boanerges, talitha cumi, Eloi, lama, 
sabachthani, etc., an interpretation of which is always 
given. The occurrence of these Aramaic expressions thus 
interpreted suggests that the readers were not acquainted 
with Hebrew or Aramaic. If they had been Jews they 
surely would have known the meaning of such words. 
If the readers were Gentiles, what Gentiles? There is a 
large number of Latinisms in the second gospel, which 
point to the conclusion that it was written at Rome and 
for Roman Christians. This is a strong but not conclusive 
evidence, since Matthew and Luke also contain a few 
Latinisms. Yet this evidence, coupled with the early 
Christian tradition, points to Roman Christians as the first 
readers of this gospel. 

The Condition of the Text 

There is great uncertainty as to where Mark's gos- 
pel ends. There is no doubt about the text up to 16:8, 
but the closing paragraph, 16:9-20, in our common English 
version, is questionable. There are three endings to our 
second gospel : what is called the longer ending as we 
have it in the King James version, closing with 16:20; 
the shorter ending closing with the words, "for they were 
afraid" (16:8); the medium ending adding one or two 
verses to the short ending, but differing in different man- 
uscripts. 

Now what is the evidence as to which ending must 
be followed? The shorter ending has on its side the au- 
thoritative weight of the two oldest and best manuscripts, 



64 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



the Sinaitic and Vatican. On the other hand, the great 
majority of manuscripts are in favor of the longer ending. 
But according to the principles for sifting the evidence 
for the various manuscripts laid down by Westcott and 
Hort, the large number of manuscripts does not add weight 
to the evidence, unless those manuscripts belong to a 
good family of documents. The intermediate ending, of 
course, is to be rejected, since it has neither internal nor 
manuscript evidence in its favor. The only question that 
is left is, Shall we follow the long or the short ending? 
Not only the manuscripts themselves, but also the internal 
evidence as to lexical, grammatical, and logical peculiar- 
ities, in the section 16:9-20, favor the short ending. The 
appearances of the risen Christ and the Great Commis- 
sion, the chief facts in this doubtful section, are found 
in Matthew and Luke. 

Characteristics 

The following peculiarities mark the content, spirit, 
language, and style of our second gospel. 

1. The Material. Mark, omitting the stories of the 
birth and infancy of Jesus, begins with the preaching of 
John. He records mainly the works of Jesus. The key 
word of Mark is power. He describes Jesus as the mighty 
wonder-worker. While Luke proves the divinity of Jesus 
by His supernatural birth, John by His eternal relation- 
ship with the Father, Mark points out His exalted per- 
sonality by giving a graphic account of his wonderful 
works. Our second gospel does not include many of the 
teachings of Jesus. There are only five parables, those of 
The Sower, The Secret Growing Seed, The Mustard Seed, 
The Wicked Husbandmen, and The Porter. Yet with all 
this scarcity of parables in Mark, we find two parables 
in him found no where else, those of The Secret Seed 
(4:26-29) and The Porter (13:34). He records no long 
addresses except the eschatalogical discourse in the thir- 
teenth chapter, which is much shorter than Matthew's form 
of it. Mark also records two miracles not found in Mat- 
thew and Luke — the cure of the deaf mute (7:32) and the 
healing of the blind man of Bethsaida (8:22). Mark's 



MARK 



65 



gospel also makes much of the healing of demoniacs, 
doubtless because this magnified the wonderful power of 
Jesus. 

2. Its Spirit. As to the spirit of his gospel, Mark 
is less Jewish than Matthew, and not so Pauline as Luke. 
There are many Petrine marks throughout the gospel. It 
abounds in vivid touches reflecting the memory of Peter. 
For example, the mentioning of the green grass on which 
the crowd sat to eat the loaves and fishes (6:39) not men- 
tioned in the other gospels; the mentioning of the stern 
of the boat and the pillow on which Jesus slept (4:38); 
the Gadarene demoniac cutting himself with stones (5 15) ; 
the Syro-Phoenecian woman as speaking Greek (7:26); 
Jesus' taking little children in His arms (9:26, 10:16); 
the street on which the colt was tied (11 14) ; the two oc- 
casions on which the cock crew (14:68); Peter's warming 
himself at the fire during the trial (14:54). This gospel 
alone records the anger of Jesus (3:5); also the fact that 
He was beside Himself (3:21). All these vivid touches 
so true to life lead Westcott to call Mark "a transcription 
of life," and Bruce to say, "Internal marks suggest an eye 
and ear witness as the source." 

3. As to Language. Mark's language is simple ver- 
nacular Greek without any literary pretentions. His is 
the language of the masses. There is only one other New 
Testament book, "Revelation," that is written in so poor 
Greek. Yet, its language is filled with fine passages of 
action, for instance, "The heavens rent" (1:10); "devour 
houses (13:40), etc. Mark is full of redundancies, as "At 
even when the sun did set" (1:32); "She gave them all 
she had, even all her living "(12:44). Mark is also fond 
of diminutives, such as little boat, little daughter, little 
dog, etc. He is also fond of Aramaic and Latin words. 

4. Grammatical Constructions. Mark is fond of the 
same vividness in grammatical construction. He used the 
words "at once" or "straightway" forty-one times. He is 
fond of the historic present to describe a past event. The 
Greek constructions are such as we find among the common 
people. There are no fine grammatical constructions such 



66 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



as we find in Luke, Acts and Hebrews. For a fuller dis- 
cussion of Mark's style and language see Prof. Farmer, Int. 
St. Bib. Encyclopedia. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-13). 

In this section we have John's ministry, Jesus' baptism and temp- 
tation. 

IL Galalean Ministry (1:14-9:50). 

In which Mark describes the five busy missionary tours of Jesus 
during- this period. 

III. The Perean Ministry (Chap. 10). 

In which Jesus is making- His last journey to Jerusalem, but on 
the way by the help of the Twelve and the Seventy seeks to 
evangelize Perea. 

IV. The Last Week in Jerusalem (Chaps. 11-15). 

1. His royal entry into Jerusalem and attendant circumstances 
(Chap. 11). 

2. Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, the three questions and 
Jesus' answer, etc. (Chap. 12). 

3. Eschatological discourses (Chap. 13). 

4. Arrest, trials, death and burial of Jesus (Chaps. 14 and 15). 

V. The Resurrection Period (Chap. 16). 

1. The empty tomb (16:1-8). 

2. The great commission and the promise (16:9-20). 



CHAPTER IX 



LUKE 

The third of the synoptic gospels, and the third in 
the order of composition, is the gospel of Luke. So next 
we will look at the literary features and contents of this 
gospel. 

The Writer 

It has been held for over 1800 years that Luke the 
physician, one of the most cultured writers of the New 
Testament, was the writer of the third gospel. The earli- 
est external evidence is in the Muratorian Fragment (175 
A. D.), which document opens with the remarkable words, 
"In the third place, the Book of the Gospel according to 
Luke, Luke composed," etc. Irenaeus also mentions Luke 
many times as the writer of this gospel. There are also 
references in the heretical writings of Marcion and Valen- 
tinus, who ascribed this gospel to Luke. Also Clement of 
Alexandria, and Tertullian, in fact nearly all the early 
Christian writers refer to Luke as the writer of the third 
gospel. Plummer, in his introduction to his Commentary 
on Luke, says : "It is manifest that in all parts of the 
Christian world the Third Gospel was universally believed 
to be the work of Saint Luke." 

The internal evidence shows that the same writer wrote 
both the third gospel and the book of Acts. The style of 
the Greek is so similar in these two books that no intelli- 
gent Greek student can deny the identity of the author- 
ship. As the writer begins the book of Acts he refers 
to the "former treatise," which was addressed to Theo- 
philus. This doubtless means this gospel. 

The oldest tradition says that Luke was called "the 
beloved physician." According to the "We" passages in 
the book of Acts, he seems to have met Paul first at Phil- 
ippi. It is not known whether he was a Christian when 
he first met Paul, or whether he accepted the gospel from 
Paul's own lips. At any rate, he followed Paul on some 
of his missionary journeys. He seems to have joined 



68 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



heartily in all of Paul's labors, and it is possible that he 
was the attending physician to the great apostle, if he 
was in delicate health as some scholars suppose. He was 
with Paul when the crisis came in Jerusalem, when the 
Apostle was arrested by a Roman officer to save him from 
the frenzy of a Jewish mob. He probably remained with 
the apostolic prisoner a part of the time in Csesarea, and 
surely he journeyed with him on the stormy voyage to 
Rome. He was loyal to the aged apostle in prison in 
Rome. Do we wonder, then, that we find unmistakable 
marks of Paul's influence on Luke? It is a remarkable 
fact that in the gospel of Luke we find many beautiful 
teachings of grace as they fell from the lips of Jesus, 
which we do not find in Matthew and Mark. That ele- 
ment in the teachings of Jesus made its special appeal to 
the mind of Luke, because he heard so much of grace 
from the lips of Paul. 

Occasion and Purpose 

From the preface of the third gospel, which is con- 
tained in the first four verses, we observe the following 
points as to the occasion of this gospel, (i) Many before 
Luke had attempted to restore from memory a continuous 
narrative of the events and scenes of the life of Jesus. 
These narratives may have been either oral or written, 
since the meaning of the Greek word diegesis is uncertain 
(see Liddell and Scott). (2) These accounts were handed 
down originally from eye-witnesses who ministered the 
word from the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. (3) 
Luke had investigated these various narratives, and so had 
an accurate knowledge of all these things from the very 
first (anothen), which seems to go back further than the 
phrase "from the beginning." (4) Luke purposes to write 
an orderly statement of these things pertaining to the life 
of Jesus. The Greek word (kathexes) translated "in order" 
does not necessarily signify temporal order, but it does 
imply a continuous narrative of Jesus' life. (5) Luke also 
purposes in writing to produce for his friend Theophilus, 
to whom his gospel is dedicated, a convincing argument 



LUKE 



69 



that the things about which he has already been instructed 
are true. 

Summing up the statement as to the purpose of Luke, 
we would put it in the following three propositions : 

(i.) He wished to make a more complete statement 
of the life and works and teachings of Jesus than had 
ever been made before. 

(2) He purposed to marshal his facts in such a con- 
vincing manner as to prove to his pagan patron, who was 
doubtless a cultured Greek, that Christianity was the one 
true religion. 

(3.) Logically following and bound up with this 
purpose was the further purpose to show that Christianity 
was not to be limited to the Jews, but was to be for all 
the world. Luke selects parables, other teachings, and 
various scenes from the life of Christ, not used by the 
other synoptic writers, such as tracing the pedigree of 
Jesus back to Adam, the father of the race; the story of 
the lost boy in the fifteenth chapter, etc., etc., all of which 
reveals his purpose to show the universality of the gospel 
of Christ. The gospel was not to be circumscribed by 
the bounds of Palestine, but Romans and Greeks and all 
the nations must become its happy possessors. 

Sources 

Luke plainly implied his familiarity with much ma- 
terial concerning the life of Christ, when he asserts in 
his preface that he has accurately traced these things from 
the first. He was not an eye or ear witness of the events, 
addresses, and splendid parables recorded. Then whence 
did he get the material for telling such a complete story 
of the life and teachings of Christ? 

1. Mark's Gospel. Since Mark's gospel is admitted 
to be the earlier it is not impossible, and even the most 
conservative scholars think it probable, that Luke had 
access to Mark's gospel. Weiss and Harnack, who are 
conservatives for Germany, declare that it is an established 
fact that Luke did use Mark's gospel in writing his gos- 
pel. There is strong internal evidence for this conclusion. 



70 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Not only is the frame-work of Luke exactly that of Mark, 
but often Luke uses the same phrases as Mark. 

2. The Logia. Luke has many discourses and say- 
ings that are not in Mark. Whence did he get these? The 
portion of the addresses which we find also in Matthew 
may have been taken from Matthew, but it is likely that 
Matthew and Luke received this discourse matter from a 
common source, the Logia, or Oracles, of Matthew. 

3. Perean Source. But nearly half of Luke does not 
occur in either Matthew or Mark. Whence did he get 
those beautiful chapters which describe the Perean min- 
istry of Jesus (10-19) ? This is one of the greatest literary 
problems connected with Luke. He surely had another 
source besides Mark and the Logia of Matthew upon which 
to draw when he came to the Perean ministry. Whether 
this source was simply tradition, a document or documents, 
is not absolutely certain. Westcott would hold that it is 
tradition, but many other conservative scholars think that 
it was a written account of the Perean ministry fuller than 
that in possession of Matthew and Mark when they wrote. 

4. Infancy Source. Again, Luke seems to have had a 
peculiar source for his infancy narratives. He and Mat- 
thew are the only writers who tell minutely the story of 
the birth and childhood of Jesus. But they do not tell 
the same scenes and events in that period. Luke may have 
had either an oral or written source for these first two 
chapters, but the language and constructions are an evi- 
dence for a written source, Hebraic in tone. 

5. Other Sources. Likewise Luke tells some things 
about the death and resurrection of Jesus that do not oc- 
cur in Mark and Matthew: the repentance of the thief, 
the walk to Emmaus with the two disciples, conversations 
of Jesus after the resurrection to the disciples, additions 
to the Great Commission, etc. 

It is useless to deny that Luke used Josephus' works. 
A few German critics claim that they can see traces of 
the Jewish historian in the historical references of Luke. 
But it is most likely that Luke wrote long before Josephus 
wrote his Antiquities or Wars. Nor is it worth our time 



LUKE 



71 



to deny that our present Luke was built upon the Luke of 
Marcion, as some German critics claim. Marcion was a 
heretic who went to Rome about 140 A. D., and who made 
the first definite canon of the New Testament, but was 
also a Second Century radical critic. He went through the 
New Testament books with knife in hand and cut out 
whatever opposed his doctrines. He rejected Matthew, 
Mark, and John, and cut out much of Luke. He held only 
a mutiliated Luke, the infancy stories and many Jewish 
passages being rejected. He accepted ten epistles of Paul, 
rejecting the Pastorals. But this was long after Luke 
had written his gospel. In other words, Marcion's Luke 
is the product of knifing our Luke, not our Luke the 
product of expanding and piecing out of Marcion's Luke. 

Date and Place of Composition 

1. Date. Various dates are assigned to this gospel 
by different schools in New Testament thought, ranging 
from 50 to 150 A. D. Blass (Phililogy) puts it as early 
as 50 or 60; Baur, Zeller, and the Tubingen school in gen- 
eral make it as late as 130 A. D. They do this because 
they claim that the canonic Luke depends on Marcion's 
Luke, which must have been as late as 125. But this is 
mere speculation. We know that Luke must have been 
earlier than Acts (1 :i), but we do not know the exact 
year of composition for the book of Acts. Again, the 
author says in his preface that "many have taken in hand 
to draw up a narrative of our Lord's life." So the gospel 
of Luke could not have been written for some time after 
the beginning of gospel writings. It is urged by the 
critics (extremely radical) that the reference in the 
eschatological discourse to the encampment of the Roman 
armies around Jerusalem, points to a date after 70 A. D. 
But this conclusion is based on the false premise that 
Jesus could not forsee future events. The most probable 
date for Luke's gospel is 68-70. 

2. Place of Composition. The place of composition 
is very much disputed by New Testament scholars, some 



72 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



claiming that it was written in Rome, some in Alexandria, 
others in Corinth, and others in Asia Minor. 

Characteristics 

1. Matter. As to matter, it tells of the annunciation 
and birth of John fully, also the birth of Jesus more fully 
than any other gospel. He devotes about the same space 
to the Galilean ministry, but gives about half of his gospel 
to the Perean ministry. He gives the Sermon in the Plain 
instead of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke is fond of 
the parables of Jesus, and tells eighteen which are no- 
where else told, e. g., the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, the 
Lost Boy, the Pharisee and the Publican, the Rich Man 
and Lazarus, the Foolish Farmer, etc. 

2. Its Comprehensiveness and Universality. Luke is 
not anti-Judaistic, as is claimed in some quarters, for he 
records such fine Jewish sayings as "It is easier for heaven 
and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to 
fail" (16-17), and yet Luke feels with his master teacher, 
Paul, that the gospel is for the world. Jesus' pedigree is 
traced back to Adam, the father of the race. The gospel 
is for the Samaritans (10:51-56; 10:30-17:11-19) and for 
Gentiles (2:32; 2:6, 38; 4:25-27; 7:9; 10:1 ; 13:27; 2i;24; 
24:27). Yea, it is for even tax collectors, sinners and out- 
casts (2:12-13; 5:27-32; 5:30-50; 15:1-2; 11:32; 18:9-14; 
19:1-10; 23:43) as well as for the respectable (7:36; 14:1); 
for the poor (1:53; 2:7, 8, 24; 4:18; 6:20, 21; 7:22; 14:13- 
21; 16:20, 23) as well as for the rich (19:2; 23:50). 

3. Honors Woman. Luke is also the gospel that 
honors woman more than any other. It begins with the 
story of Elizabeth, a pious handmaid of Israel, mother of 
him who heralded the coming of the King; tells more of 
Mary the mother of Jesus; tells of the prophetess Anna, 
the devout widow who spoke of the coming of the King 
in Israel; tells of the widow of Nain; the nameless sinner 
at Simon's house; Mary Magdalene made prominent; 
Joanna and Susanna as contributors to Jesus' missionary 
campaign; Mary and Martha of Bethany, special friends 
of Jesus, whose hospitality He so often enjoyed, and 



LUKE 



73 



others. Though the Jews and Gentiles of those times 
looked down on woman, Jesus honored her, and Luke 
brings prominently to light those scenes that honor woman. 

4. Pauline. Luke's gospel is Pauline in its nature. 
It exhibits the broad and spiritual nature of Christianity 
that shines in all the letters of Paul. It magnifies the 
grace and mercy of God, as the Apostle also does. 

5. Gospel of Prayer. Luke is the gospel of prayer. 
Matthew and Mark tell of Jesus praying on a few occa- 
sions, but Luke tells of several instances of His prayer 
life, not in Matthew and Mark — at His baptism (3:21); 
before His first collision with the hierarchy (5:16); be- 
fore the choosing of the Twelve (6:12); before the first 
public prediction of His death (9:18); at the transfigura- 
tion (9:29); before teaching the Lord's Prayer (11 
and on the cross (23:36). Luke alone records the declar- 
ation of Jesus that He prayed for Peter, and Jesus' charge 
for the Twelve not to enter into temptation (22:32, 40). 
Again, Luke alone records the parables of prayer, the 
Friend at Midnight (9:5-17); the Unjust Judge (18:1-8); 
the Pharisee and the Publican (18:11-13). 

6. Gospel of Praise and Thanksgiving. It begins and 
closes with the worship in the temple (1:9; 24:53). Luke 
alone preserves those splendid songs which have passed 
into the hymnology of the church; Gloria in Excelsis 
(2:14); the Magnificat (1:46-55); the Benedictus (1:65; 
7:9); The Nunc Dimittis (2:29-32). Over and over again 
occur the expressions "glorify God" and "praising God." 
The words "rejoice' and "joy" occur oftener in Luke than 
in Matthew and Mark. 

7. Domestic Gospel. He tells of the meal in the 
house of Mary and Martha, and that in the house of the 
leading Pharisee on the Sabbath, the sojourn in the house 
of Zacchaeus, the supper at Emmaus with two disciples 
in the house. Many of the parables also sound out the 
domestic note — the Lost Coin, the Lost Son, the Friend 
at Midnight, the Leaven, etc. 

8. Economic Gospel. He shows, as seen above, spe- 
cial sympathy for the poor: the family of Jesus (2:7, 8, 



74 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



24); gives the beatitude on the poor (6:20); the parables 
of the Rich Man and Lazarus (i6:i9ff); invitation of 
the poor to the Supper (14:21). But the gospel does not 
necessarily show an Ebionite tendency. 

9. Gospel of Gentleness. He omits the calling of 
Peter "Satan" by Jesus, the swearing by Peter, the rebuke 
of the disciples in the conversation concerning leaven, etc. 
As Dante puts it, Luke is "the writer of the story of the 
gentleness of Christ." He shows how Jesus dealt gently 
with the frailties of the disciples and of men. 

10. Historical Gospel. He writes "in order," and he 
alone connects his narratives with the history of Syria and 
the Roman Empire (2:1; 3:1). The six-fold date as to 
Jesus' birth is marked. Luke uses the word "year" twenty- 
six times, "month" ten times, more than all other New 
Testament writers together. He writes in the historical 
spirit. 

11. Its Diction and Style. Luke has the richest and 
most versatile vocabulary of any writer in the New Testa- 
ment. He has a large medical vocabulary (so Hobart and 
Harnack). As to his gospel, he uses the best Greek in 
the New Testament, except that found in the epistle to 
the Hebrews. He writes to an educated man, and his gos- 
pel makes a mighty appeal to the man of culture. There 
are three hundred and two words in Luke which are not 
found in the rest of the New Testament. Counting both 
of his books, the Gospel and the Acts, there are eight 
hundred words used by this writer which occur nowhere 
else in the New Testament. He is also fond of compound 
words and writes as excellent complex sentences as are 
found in the New Testament. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-4). 

In this introductory statement the author gives us his sources 
and the purpose of his writing-. 

II. Infancy and Boyhood of Jesus (1:5-2:52). 

In these chapters the writer tells of the birth of John, the birth, 
circumcision, and boyhood of Jesus. 

III. Preparation for the Public Ministry (3:1-4:14). 

In this section the writer describes the preaching of John, the 
baptism, genealogy, and temptation of Jesus. 



LUKE 



75 



IV. Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50). 

1. Rejected at Nazareth Jesus makes Capernaum headquarters; 
heals the sick (4:14-44). 

2. Simon called to service, the leper cleansed, opposition to 
Jesus by the Pharisees because He violated the oral law 
(5:1-6:11). 

3. He appoints the Twelve; preaches the Sermon in the Plain 
(6:12-49). 

4. He heals the centurion's servant, raises the widow's son, 
points out the character and mission of John, and forgives 
the sinful woman (Chap. 7). 

5. Rich women minister to Jesus; He speaks parables and works 
miracles (Chap. 8). 

6. He charged and sent forth the Twelve; Luke inserts Herod's 
perplexity (9:1-9). 

7. Jesus feeds the five thousand; Peter confesses Him as Christ 
and God; Jesus pointedly predicts His death; is transfigured; 
heals the lunatic boy (9:10-50). 

V. Perean Ministry (9:51-19:28). 

1. Jesus rejected by the Samaritans; proclaims the terms of 
discipleship (9:51-62). 

2. Sends out the seventy; laments over the cities rejecting Him; 
tells the parable of the Good Samaritan; and commends 
Mary's religious spirit (Chap. 10). 

3. Teaches to pray; is accused of being in league with the 
demons; denounces that generation, especially the Pharisees 
and lawyers (Chap. 11). 

4. Warns against the teaching of the Pharisees and against 
covetousness; against the lack of faith; refers to baptism of 
suffering (Chap. 12). 

5. He warns the Jews to repent; gives the parables of The 
Mustard Seed and The Leaven; warns the Jews that Gentiles 
may replace them; yet He weeps over Jerusalem (Chap. 13). 

6. Gives the supper parables, illustrating God's love and man's 
humility and benevolence (Chap. 14). 

7. Gives the three parables of grace for the lost (Chap. 15). 

8. Gives the parables on the right and wrong use of money 
(Chap. 16). 

9. Need of increased faith; impossibility of being more than 
unprofitable servants; lepers healed, Son of Man coming 
(Chap. 17). 

10. Gives two parables on prayer; receives children; tells the 
rich young man he must renounce riches; tells of His death 
the third time; heals the blind man (Chap. 18). 

11. Visits Zaccheus; gives the parable of The Pounds (19:1-28). 

VI. Last Week in Jerusalem (19:29-23:56). 

1. Jesus proclaims Himself the nation's Messiah (19:29-48). 

2. Outdoes His enemies who seek to trap Him (Chap. 20). 

3. Commends the widow's mite and delivers the eschatological 
discourse (Chap. 21). 

4. Eats the Passover Supper; institutes the Memorial Supper; 
agonizes in Gethsemane; is betrayed and tried before 
Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod; is crucified and buried (Chaps. 
22 and 23). 

VII. The Resurrection, the Forty Days, and Ascension (Chap. 24). 

In this chapter the writer tells of the women and Peter 
"at the tomb; the walk of the two disciples to Emmaus and 
Jesus' appearance to them; His appearance to the eleven; 
His farewell instructions, and ascension. 



CHAPTER X 



JOHN 

The last of the four gospels written was the Gospel 
According to John. This gospel is so different from the 
synoptic gospels which we have just studied that there 
are many questions of interest that might be considered. 
We shall not go into detail in the consideration of many 
of these interesting problems of the fourth gospel (see 
chap. 6 for our discussion of the relation between the 
fourth gospel and the first three gospels). 

The Writer 

One of the most interesting questions about the fourth 
gospel is the question of its authorship. There are three 
principal theories : 

1. First Theory. According to this theory John the 
Apostle, who leaned upon the bosom of his Lord and who 
late in life lived at Ephesus, wrote our fourth gospel. This 
is the theory that was held for many centuries by nearly 
all New Testament scholars. It is still held by nearly 
all conservative New Testament scholars. 

2. Second Theory. According to this theory another 
John, called the presbyter, who is also said to have lived 
in Ephesus, wrote this gospel. This theory commends 
itself to so great a scholar as Harnack. 

3. Third Theory. There is the third theory which 
holds that our last gospel was composed by a Second Cen- 
tury disciple of John the Apostle. It is supposed that 
this Second Century writer posessed some genuine Johan- 
nine material, but it is held that he inserted much of his 
own theological reflections and freely arranged the ma- 
terial. This view is held by many German scholars; also 
by some French, English, and American scholars. 

The External Evidence 
1. Early Church Testimony. The most of the early 
Christian writers allude to the fourth gospel as the produc- 
tion of John the Apostle. In fact, the mass of Christians 



JOHN 



77 



in the early churches all regarded this gospel as the writ- 
ing of the Apostle John. The evidence of Irenaeus is de- 
cidedly in favor of the apostolic authorship of John. Who 
was Iranaeus? He was a disciple of Polycarp, who, in 
turn, was a disciple of John the Apostle. It is scarcely 
conceivable that Polycarp should be ignorant as to the 
real authorship of our fourth gospel. Then if Polycarp 
knew that John wrote it, it is wellnigh incredible that 
Iranseus should be ignorant as to the real authorship of 
this gospel. On the other hand, if Polycarp or Irenaeus 
knew that John was not the author, it is not conceivable 
that Irenseus should make the impression in his writings 
that the gospel is apostolic in authorhsip. 

2. As to John's Residence at Ephesus. The external 
evidence is much stronger for the residence of John the 
Apostle at Ephesus late in his life than for the residence 
of another John, who may be styled the presbyter, or 
elder. Even Julicher admits this, although he does not hold 
to the apostolic authorship of John. On the other hand, 
it is true that Marcion did reject our fourth gospel, but 
not because he thought it was not composed by John the 
Apostle, but because he recognized no authoritative apostle 
but Paul. Moreover, even the heretics, the Gnostics, the 
Montanists, and the Valentinians, all regarded our fourth 
gospel as the production of John the Apostle. Tatian 
also used our fourth gospel in the construction of his 
Diatessaron, which is really the first harmony of the gos- 
pels. It is scarcely conceivable that Tatian should have 
thus used this gospel on a par with the other three gos- 
pels in constructing his harmony of the life of Christ, 
had he not regarded it as the work of the Apostle John. 

The Internal Evidence 

i. A Jew. The author must have been a Jew. His 
quotations from the Old Testament show a knowledge of 
the Hebrew, e. g., "He that eateth my bread lifteth up 
his heel against me" (13:18, from Psalm 31). "They shall 
look on Him whom they pierced" (19:37, from Zech. 12:10 
— the Septuagint translating it "because they mocked"). 



78 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



The gospel is Hebraic in style. Co-ordinate and not sub- 
ordinate sentences prevail, as in Hebrew (See 5 139, where 
he used "and" for both "and" and "but"). The same is- 
shown by his explanation of Judas Iscariot as "Man of 
Cherioth." He also shows a minute knowledge of Jewish 
ceremonial law, as purification before the Passover, fear 
of Jesus' accusers to defile themselves by entering the 
prsetorium (11:55; 18:28); Jewish method of embalming 
(19:40); of Jewish religious ideas (7:15); of the hating 
of the Galileans by the Jews (7:41, 52); of the Palestinian 
Jew's disparagement of the Hellenistic Jew (7:35). 

2. A Palestinian Jew. The author must have been 
a Palestinian Jew. He is thoroughly familiar with the 
geography of Palestine — of Galilee (2:1, 11); Bethany 
(11 :i8) ; the deep well of Sychar (4:11) ; ^non near Salim 
(3 - 2 3) ; the topography of Jerusalem, the porch, sheep 
gate, pavement, etc. (8:20; 9:7; 10:23; 18:1, 15; 19:17, 41). 
He is also familiar with the feasts and the facts concerning 
them. The only objection to the author's being a Jew is 
that he frequently uses the words "the Jews." Paul does 
the same (I Thess. 2:14-16). John's residence at Ephesus 
would account for his use of philosophical terms like 
Logos, the truth, etc. 

3. An Eye-Witness. The author must have been an 
eye-witness of the events described. His descriptions are 
vivid, as of one who saw and heard and knew. He also 
gives delicate touches of the inner life of Jesus and His 
disciples, the relation of Jesus and Judas, etc., etc. This 
gospel claims to be the work of "the disciple whom Jesus 
loved." Now three of the Twelve might easily claim this 
title — Peter, James, and John. Peter is never suspected 
of writing the fourth gospel. James had been beheaded 
in 44 A. D. So only John could have written it. 

Occasion and Purpose 

It is likely that Gnosticism was threatening Chris- 
tianity in the last quarter of the First Century. Gnosticism 
was a growing heresy at this time, which was a blending 
of Greek philosophy, Oriental religion, and Christianity. 



JOHN 



79 



It arose as early as the middle of the First Century of 
our era, but did not flourish until the Second Century. 
It began to wane in the Third Century and so continued 
until it disappeared in the Sixth Century. The essence 
of Gnosticism is that knoweldge and not faith is the road 
to spirituality, happiness, and heaven ; that God is un- 
knowable ; that Christian teachings must be combined with 
the teachings of Greek philosophy and oriental religion, 
if we would attain unto the highest teachings in ethics and 
religion. It is almost positively sure that toward the close 
of the First Century Gnosticism spread as far as Asia 
Minor and was undermining the churches founded by Paul 
and John and their co-laborers. Out of these circumstances 
arose the gospel of John, and we may state the purpose 
of the writer in the three following propositions: 

1. Negatively. Jesus Christ, the heart of Christian- 
ity, is about to be robbed of His divine glory. His person 
and His work of redemption are both being minimized 
by the Gnostic teachers. This must not be permitted. 
Christ, the Son of God, must not be placed by the side 
of those imaginary beings called ^ons in the Gnostic sys- 
tem. This is what the Gnostics were doing, although it 
is just to the Gnostics to concede that they placed Jesus 
at the head of the ladder of yEons. He was the topmost 
round in the ladder of the imaginary beings operating 
between heaven and earth, God and men. But the aged 
John, so loyal to Christ his Lord, could not sit quietly by 
and allow these false teachings to undermine the divine 
glory of Christ. 

2. Positively. But John had also a constructive pur- 
pose. It was not enough to refute the false teachings of 
the Gnostics. He must demonstrate that the historical 
Jesus was the eternal Logos, the Son of God ; yea, that even 
the essence of deity itself inhered in Him. In the twentieth 
chapter of this gospel the writer says : "But these are 
written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God." The writer selects just those scenes, works, 
and addresses that reflect His divine person and power, 
His heavenly grace and glory. The writer shows in his 



80 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



prologue that Jesus pre-existed as the Logos in the bosom 
of the Father, and was actively the medium through whom 
the Father created the universe. In the body of the gos- 
pel he selects only those miracles that reflect the divine 
glory of the Son. Even the addresses recorded by John 
reveal the same supermundane personality and divine mis- 
sion of the Christ in His incarnation. 

3. Practically. The writer has in mind to show his 
readers how they may have life more abundantly by be- 
lieving in the Son. John had himself experienced fellow- 
ship with God through Jesus Christ his Lord. This fel- 
lowship constituted spiritual life. The writer wrote to 
show that Jesus is the way and the life; that is, that He 
is the medium of spiritual life, or fellowship with God, 
to men who believe on Him. This life grows deeper and 
broader and richer and sweeter as the believer learns more 
of Christ. Thus the writer would urge his readers on to 
a deeper and fuller experience in their knowledge of 
Christ as the beloved Son of God. 

Date, Place of Composition and Addressees 

1. Date. There is a great variety of opinions as to 
the time when this last gospel came from its author's 
pen : Baur, the head of the Tubingen school, places it as 
late as 160-170; Pfleiderer, 140; Hilgenfeld, 130-140; Jii- 
licher, no; Harnack, 80-110. What is the most probable 
date? According to Irenseus, the Apostle John lived as 
late as 98 A. D., and so the gospel could be apostolic in 
its authorship and have been written as late as 97 or 98. 
Again we find unmistakable evidence of the Gnostic here- 
sy in the last quarter of the First Century, which heresy is 
seen to be counteracted in this gospel. Therefore, the 
historical conditions and the religious circumstances sug- 
gest that the date was toward the close of the First Cen- 
tury, about 90-95. 

2. Place of Composition. It is universally held that 
the fourth gospel was composed at Ephesus. 

3. Addressees. The readers addressed were proba- 
bly the Christians of Asia Minor. The supposition that 
this gospel was composed at Ephesus and addressed to 



JOHN 



81 



Christians in Asia Minor, especially the Christians in the 
Roman province of Asia with Ephesus as the capital, is no 
objection to the apostolic authorship. On the other hand, 
it would be the most natural thing for the aged Apostle, just 
as he is rounding out his life of usefulness and now about 
to leave his followers without his personal instructions and 
admonitions, to write this beautiful spiritual treatise re- 
flecting the divine glory of his Lord. 

Characteristics 

1. Matter. As to the matter see Chapter VI. above, 
where are mentioned its differences from the synoptic gos- 
pels. 

2. Language Simple. The author uses monosyllables 
usually. He has no words of special literary merit. There 
is no mark of literary style in the Greek, as we find in 
the writings of Luke and the letter to the Hebrews. The 
Greek of John's gospel is the ordinary vernacular, the com- 
mon language of the masses in the shops and the streets. 
On the other hand, it must not be supposed that the sim- 
plicity of the language used by the writer is any reflection 
on the charm and the beauty of this gospel. Indeed, its 
simplicity enhances its beauty. 

3. Its Ideas Sublime. It moves not in the region of 
earth but of heaven. He writes of light, life, love, truth, 
and grace; of the Theos and the Logos (God and the 
Word), and the relation of Theos and the Logos. He also 
grapples with the problem of the relation of the Logos 
and Cosmos (the Word and the World), showing that the 
Logos is the medium through whom God created all things. 
He also shows that the Son is the source of the spiritual 
life, the fellowship of believers with God, the entrance 
upon which life is called a new birth. 

4. Spirtual Gospel. He records the conversation of 
Jesus with Nicodemus concerning the new birth. The 
word "life." or "eternal life," is a common expression in 
this eospel. In 17:3, Jesus says: "And this is life eternal 
that thev may know thee, the onlv true God, and Him whom 
thou didst send, Jesus Christ." Therefore, life eternal 



82 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



is to know God and His Son, Jesus, and to be in vital fel- 
lowship with the Father and the Son. This is spiritual re- 
ligion. There is no ritualism in it. In fact, Jesus believed 
so strongly in experimental, spiritual religion that He 
stakes the proof of His teachings on the thoroughly spirit- 
ual experience of a submissive follower. "If any man 
willeth to know His will, he shall know the teaching:, 
whether it be of God or whether I speak from mvself" 
(7:17). The real spiritual experience of a willing disciple 
of Jesus is the supreme court of appeal for the divineness 
of Jesus' teachings. John records those splendid teachings 
of Jesus as to the work of the Holy Spirit. While the 
Holy Spirit is mentioned ten times in Mark, six in Mat- 
thew, sixteen in Luke, He is mentioned eighteen times in 
Tohn. He is called the Paraclete, which literally means 
"Helper," not "Comforter," the Spirit of Truth, the Holy 
Spirit, or simply Spirit. 

5. Christ Exalting Gospel. The svnoptic gospels 
also exalt Jesus as the Messiah, Son of Man. and Son of 
God, but in John the glorv of Testis shines more brilliantlv 
under the titles, "Loeos," "Theos," "Savior of the World." 
the "Onlv Begotten," the "Onlv Beeotten Son." the "Lamb 
of God." the "Ladder on Which the Aneels of God As- 
cend and Descend," the "Manna or Bread of Life" the 
"Lieht of the World," the "Resurrection and the Life." 
the "Wav. the Truth, and the Life," the ''Water of Life " 
the "Good Shepherd," the "Door into the Sheep Fold," the 
"Vine," etc., etc. 

6. Trinitarian Gospel. This is not to say that the 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do not appear in the scenes 
and teachings of the svnoptic gospels, but that the higher 
and more sublime relations of the Godhead are not made 
so common as in John, in which the Father, the Son. and 
the Holy Spirit all shine forth in their distinctive per- 
sonality and glory. The Father loves the world and gives 
His Son: the Son dies and rises and thus becomes the way 
to God, the resurrection, and the life, while the Spirit con- 
vinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, re- 
generates, and, as Paraclete, leads into all the truth. 



JOHN 



83 



General Outline 

I. Introduction, the First Manifestation of the Incarnate Logos 

(Chaps. 1-4). 

1. The Prologue, in which John identifies the Logos, the supreme 
revealer of God, with the historical Jesus (1:1-18). 

2. The testimony of the Baptist and the first five disciples 
(1:19-51). 

3. The witness of two great signs (making water wine and 
cleansing the temple), and other signs (2:1-3:2). 

4. The new birth by the Spirit and through the Son (3:3-21). 

5. The last testimony of the Baptist to Jesus as the Bride- 
groom; personal testimony of the author (3:22-36). 

6. In Samaria Jesus manifested as life-giver, prophet and Sav- 

ior, the healing of the dying son of the nobleman illustrating 
the first point (Chap. 4). 

II. Increasing Self-Revelation of Jesus and Consequent Conflict With 

the Leaders (Chaps. 5-11). 
L Christ the source and sustainer of life, illustrated in healing 
the infirm man on the Sabbath; His claim to give resurrec- 
tion life and be the Bread of Life illustrated in feeding the 
five thousand; at the feast of tabernacles, invites all thirsty 
ones to come to Him for life (Chaps. 5-7). 

2. Christ the Light of the World, the Liberator from the slav- 
ery of sin, the former illustrated in the healing of the blind 
man (Chaps. 8-9). 

3. Christ the Good Shepherd and One with the Father (Chap. 10). 

4. He raises Lazarus, thus showing Himself the Resurrection and 
the Life (Chap. 11). 

III. The Close of the Puhlic Ministry (Chap. 12). 

1. Christ anointed by Mary (12:1-11). 

2. Rides into Jerusalem (12:12-19). 

3. When the Greeks seek Him at the feast He speaks of His 
Glory through His death (12:20-50). 

IV. The Revelation of Jesus as Love to the Inner Circle (Chaps. 

13-17). 

1. Washes their feet as a loving service (13:1-20). 

2. Judas, the betrayer of love, pointed out (13:21-30). 

3. Last discourse to the loyal eleven (13:31-17:38). 

(a) Love one another, (13:31-35). 

(b) Christ's four-fold panacea for troubled hearts (13:36- 
14:4). 

(c) Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the Spirit com- 
ing as the Helper (14:5-31). 

(d) Christ the Vine (15:1-10). 

(e) Suffering disciples helped and led by the Paraclete 
(15:11-16:33). 

(f) Intercessory prayer for His present and future disciples 
(Chap. 17). 

V. His Death and the Apparent Triumph of His Enemies (Chaps. 

18 and 19). 

1. His betrayal (18:1-12). 

2. Before Annas (18:13-27). 

3. Before Pilate (18:28-19:16). 

4. On the cross and in the tomb (19:17-42). 

VI. His Resurrection and Glorification (Chap. 20). 

1. The author's testimony (20:1-10). 

2. Appears to ten others (20:19, 20). 

4. He gives peace and the Spirit (20:21-23). 



84 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



5. Appears to doubting Thomaa (20:24-29). 

6. John's summary (20:30, 31). 

VII. The Epilogue (Chap. 21). 

1. Appears to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (21:1-14). 

2. Special interview with Peter (21:15-23). 

3. John the beloved disciple as the writer (21:24, 25). 



CHAPTER XI 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

In this chapter our purpose is to give only the general 
course of Christ's life and labors and the principal events 
connected with this wonderful life. 

I. Birth and Youth of Jesus 

(Matt. Chaps, i and 2; Mark 1:1-8; Luke Chaps. 1 and 2.) 

1. Time of His Birth. Jesus was born while Augus- 
tus was emperor of Rome, while Herod the Great was king 
over Palestine, and Quirinius governor of Syria — probably 
in 5 B. C. 

2. Place of His Birth. In fulfillment of the prophecy 
of Micah, He was born in Bethlehem. Augustus had or- 
dered all his subjects to be enrolled for a new taxation, and 
so Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem, the land of 
their fathers, for enrollment, and in this way Jesus was born 
in Bethlehem. 

3. Son of God and Son of Man. According to Luke's 
account, the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin, and Jesus 
was thus the Son of God, as well as the Son of Man : "He 
shall be called the Son of the Highest." His mother was 
human, and His father was divine, and so He partakes of 
the nature of divinity and humanity. All four of the gospel 
writers agree in the assumption that Jesus is both the Son 
of God and the Son of Man, although only Matthew and 
Luke record His virgin birth. 

4. Worshipped in Infancy. When the child Jesus 
was forty days old He was presented to the Lord in Jeru- 
salem. On this occasion Simeon, who was praying and 
hoping for the Messiah's Kingdom, took the baby Jesus into 
his arms and thanked God for letting him live to see the 
Messiah. The Prophetess Anna also gave thanks for the 
birth of this child and spoke of Israel's redemption through 
Him. Moreover, the shepherds near Bethlehem heard the 
voices of angels singing of the birth of the King, and they, 
too, came to worship at His feet. A fourth group, the 



86 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



wise men, probably astrologers from Arabia and Persia, led 
by an unusual star, came to worship the new King. 

5. Herod Plans to Kill the New King. When Herod 
heard from the wise men of another king he was jealous, 
and, moved with rage, commanded that all the children 
from two years and down should be slaughtered. To es- 
cape the rage of Herod, Joseph fled with Mary and Jesus 
to Egypt, where he remained until an angel of the Lord 
told him it was safe to return to the home land. 

6. Jesus Conscious of Divine Sonship. On the return 
from Egypt His parents settled in Nazareth, and Jesus 
grew like other normal children, physically, mentally, and 
religiously. At twelve years of age He went up to Jeru- 
salem to worship at the Passover. He was so charmed with 
the things of His Father's house that He neglected to re- 
port at the caravan when the pilgrims from Nazareth re- 
turned. After a day's journey out it was discovered that 
He was missing. On returning to Jerusalem they found 
Him in the midst of the doctors, asking and answering 
questions. In answer to His mother's question of anxiety, 
He replied : "Did you not know that I must be in my Fath- 
er's affairs?" (Luke 2:49). This evidently means that at 
this early age He knew Himself as the Son of God and the 
appointed Messiah. 

7. The Model Boy and Youth. He returned to Naz- 
areth and was subject to Joseph and Mary. He was a model 
boy and youth in His obedience to His parents (Luke 2:51). 
Eighteen years slip by before the curtain is lifted and 
shows us another scene in His life, but through all these 
silent years He lived the life of obedience, not only to His 
parents, but to His Father in heaven. 

8. His Education. At six or seven Jesus was prob- 
ably put into the synagogue public school according to 
Jewish custom. Here He learned to read and write and 
began to study for Himself the marvelous history of His 
people. He seems not to have attended the college in 
Jerusalem, where general courses in rabbinic theology, 
logic, and dialectics were pursued (Jno. 7:15)- He was 
a constant student of the Old Testament, as well as of 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 87 



nature and of man, as shown in His parables and other 
teachings. 

II. Preparation for the Public Ministry 

(Matt. 3:1-12; Mark 1:9-13: Luke 3:1-18.) 

1. John's Preaching. Six months before Jesus began 
His public ministry, John began to preach, "Repent, for 
the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He meant the Mes- 
sianic King was standing in the midst of the people and 
soon would take up the task of establishing the Messiah's 
reign on earth. He baptized, in the Jordan, Pharisees and 
publicans, the soldiers and the masses, who showed by 
their conduct that they were turning to the Messiah. 

2. Jesus is Baptized. At the end of the six months 
Jesus came from the quiet scenes of Nazareth to the banks 
of the Jordan and asked baptism at the hands of John. 
At first John hesitated, but when Jesus maintained that 
such a course was the will of God, both for John and 
Himself ("thus it becometh us") the Prophet yielded and 
baptized Jesus. To furnish Jesus with credentials of His 
messiahship, the Spirit descended upon Him in the form 
of a dove, and the Father's voice spoke from heaven, "This 
is my beloved Son." Others were baptized on confession 
of their sins, but Jesus was baptized to identify Himself 
with the messianic movement and to inaugurate His pub- 
lic ministry for the setting up of the kingdom of heaven 
on earth. 

3. Jesus Tested. Immediately after His splendid 
experience at baptism, Jesus was driven into the wilder- 
ness by the Spirit (as Mark records it) to be tempted by 
the devil. Matthew records three specific temptations, 
while Mark gives no particular temptation, but adds the 
graphic description, "He was with the wild beasts." Luke 
says that "the devil left Him for a season," implying that 
these tests were but the beginning of a series of struggles 
with the Prince of Darkness. Remember Jesus was capable 
of being tempted, because He was a man as well as God, 
but because of the power of God over Him and in Him 
He overcame, and in Him we all can meet the challenge 
of Satan. 



88 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

III. The Judean Ministry 

(Jno. 1-4.) 

1. His First Two Disciples. On the first day after 

Jesus emerged from the wilderness, the Baptist saw Him 
walking by, and exclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God that 
taketh away the sin of the world." The next day he said 
to two of his disciples, Andrew and probably John, "Be- 
hold, the Lamb of God." These two men at once accepted 
Jesus as the Messiah and began to follow Him. These 
were His first disciples. 

2. Christ the Lamb of God. In Matthew and Luke 
John pictures Jesus as the judge who shall separate the 
wheat from the chaff. In John He is presented as the 
Lamb of God. Both views of Him are true. But in John 
He is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, the paschal lamb 
who is going to die for the sins of the world, and at last 
will be the judge of all men. 

3. The Next Three Disciples. The third disciple was 
the impetuous Simon, won to Christ by his brother, An- 
drew. On the fourth day after Christ returned from the 
wilderness, Philip (the only apostle with a Greek name) 
heard Jesus and followed Him. The next day the fifth 
disciple, Nathaniel, was won by Philip. 

4. His First Miracle. Jesus and His mother attend- 
ed a wedding in Cana. Late in the evening the wine was 
running low. His mother was watching for an opportunity 
for her son to display His greatness. When she applied 
to Him for such a display, Jesus, reading the selfish pride 
in the mother's heart, replied, "Woman, what have I to 
do with thee?" This question is an Aramaic idiom which 
is not so harsh as its English translation seems, although 
the question is a loving rebuke of His mother's failing to 
recognize His real spiritual mission to earth. 

5. He Drives the Traders From the Temple. After 
spending a few days in Capernaum with His mother, 
brothers, and disciples, He came to Jerusalem to worship 
at the Passover. On entering the temple square His heart 
melted within Him when He saw the secularizing of His 
Father's house by money changers and merchants. In 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 89 

holy indignation He made a whip of cords and drove the 
polluters out of the temple. The only sign He gave of 
His authority for such a drastic measure was a challenge 
to the nation to "destroy this temple, and in three days 
I will raise it up." This was a prophecy of His death 
and resurrection. 

6. Jesus and Nicodemus. Even Nicodemus, the chief 
rabbi of Israel, was aroused by the miracles of Jesus at 
the feast, and so came by night to concede to Jesus that 
he believed Him to be from God. Jesus takes this occasion 
to teach the necessity of the spiritual birth. Even a re- 
ligious teacher must experience the spiritual transforma- 
tion of the new birth before he can enter or see the king- 
dom of God. 

7. Jesus Teaches and Saves Samaritans. For several 
months we have no record of what Jesus was doing, except 
that He was baptizing in Judea, and that His disciples 
became more numerous than those of John. Jesus did not 
baptize personally, but had His disciples to do the bap- 
tizing. Because of His success John's disciples became 
jealous, and Jesus retired to Galilee. He took the middle 
short road to Galilee, the road through Samaria. While 
resting at Jacob's well He met a Samaritan woman. He 
naively aroused her sense of sin and revealed Himself to 
her as the Messiah and Savior of sinners. She rushed to 
the city, and, by telling her experience with Jesus, led the 
townsmen to invite Jesus to remain two days, as a result 
of which visit many received Him as the "Savior of the 
world." 

IV. The Galilean Ministry 

(Mt. 4:12-18:35; Mk. 1:14-9:50; Lu. 4:13-19-28.) 

1. Galilee His New Arena. Galilee was a small prov- 
ince but was inhabited in the main by Jews more liberal 
and so more susceptible to receiving the new teachings of 
Jesus concerning the kingdom. Around the Sea of Gal- 
ilee were situated two hundred and four towns and cities 
(so Josephus), and consequently Jesus might well 



90 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



expect to find in Galilee a great opportunity for publishing 
the good news of the kingdom. 

2. Capernaum His New Headquarters. In a short 
time Jesus, after passing through Cana where He turned 
the water into wine, and healing the son of Chusa, Antipas' 
steward, returned to His own home in Nazareth and, ac- 
cording to custom, went into the synagogue to worship on 
the Sabbath. The leader of the services invited Him to 
read the roll of the prophets. He read the messianic 
prophecy from Isaiah 61 and claimed its fulfillment in 
Him that day. His hearers were indignant and sought 
to thrust Him down the hill, but Jesus escaped and ever 
afterwards made Capernaum, a city on the northwest of 
the Sea of Galilee, a great fish market, a center for the 
collecting of the Roman taxes, and teeming with busy, 
broad-minded Jews and many Greeks and Romans, His 
headquarters for the Galilean ministry. 

3. Jesus Begins to Organize the Kingdom Forces. 

He must have co-laborers in evangelizing the country, and 
special students to whom He may commit the message 
of His kingdom for future transmission. So as He walked 
down the beach one day he called Peter and Andrew, 
James and John, to become fishers of men. They im- 
mediately responded, and in a day or two He and they 
together began the first preaching tour of Galilee. The 
day before was a very busy day for Jesus, in Capernaum, 
in healing the sick. Even after sunset a host of sufferers 
crowded about the door for the healing touch of His hand. 

4. He Begins the Evangelistic Campaign in Prayer. 
Before day next morning Jesus arose and went out to 
pray in a lonely spot. Because of the great day before 
everybody was anxious to see Him in the morning, but 
He was missing. Peter, however, found Him and told 
Him that everybody was looking for Him, but Jesus said 
they must go on to bless the sick and save the lost in the 
neighboring towns as well as in Capernaum. 

5. The Pharisees Begin to Oppose Jesus. After a 
somewhat extensive preaching tour on which He healed 
the leper, who so unwisely proclaimed the work of Jesus 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 91 



that He must quit the towns and work in the country 
places, He at last returned to Capernaum where there 
greeted Him a vast crowd to see Him cure the sick. While 
He was preaching, four friends brought a paralytic on a 
pallet, and they were so persistent that they climbed to 
the house top, dug up the thatched roof, and let him down 
by cords into the presence of Jesus. Jesus stopped preach- 
ing and forgave the man his sins. The people were flock- 
ing to Him for healing, but Jesus desired to save men 
spiritually. So He forgave the paralytic first and then 
healed his body, as a visible sign of His authority to for- 
give sins on earth. The Pharisees muttered at His claim 
to forgive sins. This is the first record of their public 
opposition to Jesus, but several instances of the Pharisaic 
opposition followed. Jesus and His disciples did not keep 
the regular twice-a-week fast required by the rabbis and 
in other ways smashed their traditions. Jesus neither ap- 
proved nor abrogated fasting. If the occasion calls for it, 
it is a good thing if done as unto God and not for men 
to see. Still Christ teaches that His doctrines are no new 
patch on the garment of Judaism, but constitute a new re- 
ligion to express itself in new forms (new wine skins). 
Jesus also persisted in disregarding the oral law by heal- 
ing on the Sabbath day the man with the withered hand. 
He taught that the Sabbath was made for man and not man 
for the Sabbath. Anything necessary for man's highest 
welfare is right on the Sabbath. 

6. Matthew the T ax-Collector Converted. About this 
time Jesus passed the place of toll in Capernaum and called 
Matthew, the tax collector, to follow him. At once Mat- 
thew quit his business and became a disciple of the Naz- 
arene. He was so happy in his new faith and life that he 
made a great banquet to which he invited his tax-collector 
friends, many of whom also believed on Jesus. 

7. Jesus Chooses the Twelve. To meet the demands 
of the enlarging work Jesus further organized the king- 
dom forces by calling the Twelve and instituting the apos- 
tolate. Their mission was three-fold: to be with Him for 
personal instruction ; to preach the gospel of the kingdom ; 



92 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

to cast out demons, and to help men generally. The ulti- 
mate purpose was to teach these men the doctrines of the 
kingdom and through them to transmit these doctrines 
to future generations. All the Twelve were from Galilee 
except Judas Iscanot (the man of Cherioth, a village of 
Judea). 

8. He Delivers the Sermon on the Mount. This ser- 
mon is recorded in Matt. 5-7. In Luke 6:20-48 we have 
the "Sermon in the Plain," which contains much of the 
material of the Sermon on the Mount; also some details 
not in the Sermon on the Mount. It is the inaugural ad- 
dress setting forth the principles of the kingdom in ap- 
plication to human life. The theme of the address in Mat- 
thew is The Ideal Life, or True Righteousness. It sets 
forth the moral and religious laws of the kingdom. It 
fulfills "the law and the prophets" — rounds out to com- 
pleteness the ethical principles of the Old Testament. 

9. Jesus Conducts a Second Preaching Tour in Galilee. 

On this tour a Roman centurion's servant was healed. The 
centurion felt his unworthiness to approach Jesus, and so 
sent Jewish elders to intercede with Him to heal his serv- 
ant. The embassy urged that this man had built a syna- 
gogue for the nation and, therefore, was "worthy" to re- 
ceive this favor. But when Jesus approached his house, 
the centurion sent word to Him that he was "not worthy" 
that the Christ should come under his roof, but that he 
had faith to believe that He could heal his servant if only 
He spoke the word. About this time Jesus also raised the 
son of the widow of Nain, and thus showed His power 
over death as well as disease. 

10. The Baptist in Doubt. At this period John the 
Baptist was eking out a miserable existence in the castle 
of Machaerus, east of the Jordan. His faith flickered as 
he suffered on and saw no hope of deliverance. He sent 
a deputation of his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Art thou 
He that cometh, or look we for another?" At that moment 
Jesus was healing diseases and casting out evil spirits. He 
bade the messengers return and tell John of the marvelous 
works He was doing and how He was preaching the gos- 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 93 



pel to the poor — which meant that He was the Messiah 
John believed Him to be. 

11. Jesus and the Sinful Woman. One of the most 
charming stories in the life of Christ is that of the outcast 
woman, who slipped into the Pharisee's house while Jesus 
was dining and anointed His feet with precious ointment, 
after first washing them with her tears and drying them 
with her hair. Because of her faith He forgave her sins, 
and because He forgave her sins she loved Him and thus 
lavished her treasure upon Him. 

12. The Women Who Helped Jesus With Their 
Money. Several women of means, Mary Magdalene, out of 
whom He had cast seven evil spirits; Joanna, wife of a 
Herodian official ; Susanna, and others, contributed their 
money to pay the expenses of Christ's evangelistic cam- 
paign (Luke 8:1-3). 

13. The Pharisees and the "Eternal Sin." The scribes 
and Pharisees kept hounding at the great teacher's heels, 
thus showing the perversity of their hearts and their utter 
inability to discern spiritual truths, so He warns them 
against committing the sin against the Holy Spirit, the 
sin of persistently refusing to follow the moral and spir- 
itual light — the sin of failing to use the moral and spir- 
itual sense in estimating spiritual teachings and values 
until that sense becomes utterly irresponsive. This sin 
has never forgiveness, because God has no way of reach- 
ing a man if his spiritual sense is utterly irresponsive to 
spiritual things. 

14. Jesus Speaks the Parable by the Sea. Jesus now 

begins His teaching by parables. Matthew collects seven 
in chapter 13. Jesus used three popular methods of teach- 
ing: by public discourse or conversation; by action, as 
when He set a little child in their midst to teach them the 
lesson of humility and greatness ; also by parables. A para- 
ble is a proverbial saying or story from nature, or from 
human experience, used to teach religious truths. The pur- 
pose of the parables was to veil the truth from His enemies 
but to unveil it more forcefully to His disciples. Each 
parable usually illustrates one main teaching. 



94 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



15. Jesus' Conception of the Kingdom. The Phari- 
sees and the masses thought the kingdom would be set 
up in Jerusalem and the Jews would be the principal mem- 
bers. But Jesus had no such political and economic pro- 
gram. His kingdom was spiritual and social. It was to 
be the rule of God in the hearts and lives of men who 
loved God as Father — and one another as brothers. It is 
to be intensely religious, since it means subjection to God's 
will, but is also social, since it is a spiritual brotherhood 
in which men love and forgive one another. It must grow 
extensively and intensively, until it covers the earth, and 
its principles pervade all social relations and gradually 
transform them. 

15. Jesus The Wonder Worker. During all this time 
He was working miracles. Matthew collects ten in chap- 
ters 8 and Q. They are the natural expression of His 
ereat personality, of His compassion and power. They 
increase the faith of the disciples in Him (Matt. 8:27) 
and prove to others that He is the Messiah (Jno. 3:1). 
They also attract attention and give Him great crowds 
to whom He can preach the kingdom. They are divided 
into three classes : miracles of healing, including the cast- 
ing out of demons ; miracles of nature (turning water into 
wine, stilling the tempest, etc.), and miracles of raising 
the dead. 

17. He Further Evangelizes Galilee. Overwhelmed 
with the greatness of the harvest. He sends forth the 
Twelve for a special campaign. Thev must make no pro- 
vision for the body but trust in the Father to provide for 
them. Thev are to cast out demons and heal every dis- 
ease, as well as preach the spiritual kingdom. They were 
to bless the whole man, body, mind, and spirit. 

18. His Crisis At Capernaum. Out of compassion 
lesus fed the five thousand on the east of the Sea of 
Galilee. After this startling miracle. He sends His dis- 
ciples to the west side, while He Himself dismissed the 
crowd and went up into the mountain to pray. In the 
early mornine hours of the nisfht, He came walking on 
the water to the disciples, who were thus impressed that 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 95 



He was "the Son of God." On reaching the west side, 
Jesus went into the synagogue at Capernaum and delivered 
the address on the "Bread of Life," in which he showed 
that His program was spiritual and not economic and 
political. Consequently the multitudes began to desert 
Him, because they were disappointed in such a program. 
They wanted a meat-and-bread Messiah. This is the great 
crisis of the Galilean ministry. Jesus had reached the 
high tide of popularity, never to be reached again. 

19. Jesus Teaches That Uncleanness Is Internal. 

He also delivered an address on uncleanness, in which 
He attacked the ceremonialism of the Pharisees. They 
held to the tradition of the elders that one must take a 
bath and wash his hands, on coming in from the market, 
before eating. Jesus taught that not the things going 
into us but the things coming out of our hearts defile 
us ; that is, uncleanness is a moral and not a ceremonial 
matter. This teaching broadened the chasm between Jesus 
and the Pharisees. 

20. Jesus In Syria. At this crisis He retires to the 
northward towards Tyre and Sidon, the principal cities 
of Phoenicia, now a part of the Roman province of Svria. 
His chief design in thus retirine from the busy life of 
Galilee was further to train the Twelve. While in Phoe- 
nicia, a Syro-Phcenician mother, by faith incredible for 
a pagan woman, wrested from Him the healing of her 
suffering daughter. At first Jesus told her that she was 
outside the range of His personal ministrv; that He was 
trying to induce Israel to accept their Messiah : that it 
was not proper to take the children's bread and cast it 
to the dogfs (the heathen). She humblv accepted the 
terms but beeged to receive as a little dog a few crumbs 
of mercv at the Messiah's hands. Tesus blessed her daugh- 
ter. 

21. His Enemies Seek A Spectacular Sign. The 

Sadducees had not hitherto taken much part in the op- 
position, but now thev, the political leaders, joined the 
Pharisees, the religious leaders, in opposition to Jesus. 
So after He had returned from Phoenicia by the Syrian 



96 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



road through Decapolis, and after feeding- the four thou- 
sand on the Sea of Galilee, the Pharisees and Sadducees 
together demanded of Jesus a spectacular sign from 
heaven as a demonstration of His messiahship. 

22. The Great Confession. Jesus and the disciples 
had journeyed twenty-five miles from the Sea of Galilee 
to near the city of Caesarea Philippi (at the foot of Mount 
Hermon, rebuilt by Herod Philip), where He gave them 
those fine lessons of personal faith in Him as the Mes- 
siah. When asked their personal view of Jesus, Peter, 
doubtless speaking for the whole group, replied, "Thou 
art the Christ" (Matthew adding "the Son of the living 
God," and Luke, "of God"). The central point in the con- 
fession of Peter is that he had come to believe that the 
Nazarene was the Messiah. In this connection Christ de- 
clared that His church was built by Him on this rock — the 
confession of faith like Peter's in Jesus as the Messiah 
and Son of God. 

23. He Foretells His Death. At once He begins to 
tell them that He, the Messiah, must suffer and die at 
the hands of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court in Jeru- 
salem. Peter protested that such a course was impossible, 
but Jesus told him that this feeling was born of Satan, 
the enemy of man and of Christ, and that sacrifice is the 
eternal principle on which Messiah's kingdom must be 
built. 

24. Jesus Transfigured. To counteract the crushing 
blow this prediction had struck upon their faith, Tesus 
was transfigured before Peter, James, and Tohn, on Mount 
Hermon (8,000 feet above sea level and close to Csesarea 
Philippi). Two heavenly citizens, Moses and Elijah, came 
to talk with Him about His death. This transfiguration 
was not only to increase the faith of the disciples in Jesus 
as the Messiah, in spite of His approaching death, but 
a 1 so to supply Him with fresh spiritual strength to bear 
the load of suffering ahead of Him. 

25. Jesus Conquers Demons. On reaching the foot 
of the mount, Jesus found a poor demonized boy who suf- 
fered with convulsions. The anxious father, hearing of 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 97 



Jesus' power to heal, had brought his son while Jesus was 
on the mount of transfiguration. The disciples had under- 
taken to heal the boy but had failed. Jesus was amazed 
at the lack of faith in His disciples. After eliciting the 
faith of the father, Jesus healed the suffering boy. 

26. Back Home in Capernaum. On returning home, 
+0 check the opposition of Herod Antipas, He paid the 
temple tax with a stater found in a fish's mouth. In the 
house He rebuked the disciples for discussing the chief 
places in the kingdom, and told them that humility meant 
exaltation in the kingdom. He also inculcated the spirit 
of forgiveness, which he illustrated in the parable of the 
unforgiving servant whose creditor had forgiven him the 
sum of one million dollars, but was not willing to forgive 
his fellow-servant for the sum of sixteen. 

27. Jesus At The Feast Of Tabernacles. It is now 
October, 28 A. D., and the brothers of Jesus, humiliated 
at His claim to messiahship which He had not yet sub- 
stantiated, although they did not themselves believe in 
Him, urged Him to go to the feast and positively assert 
His messiahship. But Jesus felt that it was not yet time, 
that He had not yet fulfilled the mission of His Father in 
teaching the twelve and evangelizing Palestine, so He 
waited a few days, went up to the feast privately, and 
there delivered three addresses (Jno. 7:37-8:59). The 
first is on the abundant life of the Spirit in the believer; 
the second, the Light of the World (which He was), and 
the servitude of sin, from which only the Son of God 
sets free. 

V. The Perean Ministry 

(Mt. chaps. 19 and 20; Mk. chap. 10; Lu. 9:51-19:28; Jo. 9:1-12:11.) 

i. Jesus And The Samaritan Village. Before be- 
ginning the journey to Jerusalem through Perea, Jesus 
sent disciples ahead to a village of Samaria. When He 
arrived its citizens would not receive Him because his 
face was set towards Jerusalem. Jesus rebuked the spirit 
of James and John, who would have fire from heaven 
burn to ashes the village. His mercy shines forth from His 
suffering soul. 



98 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



2. He Sends Out Seventy Other Evangelists. He 

sent them out in thirty-five pairs to thirty-five different 
places. Like the twelve, they were to rely upon the Fa- 
ther to protect and care for them. Each pair was to settle 
in a given city or town with definite headquarters, until 
they had evangelized that community. The cities receiv- 
ing their message should be prospered; those rejecting it 
should be cursed. Their campaign was successful, and 
Jesus rejoiced and thanked the Father for unveiling the 
secrets of the kingdom to the lowly and trusting ones. 

3. The Good Samaritan the True Neighbor. We now 

come to the first of tjiose fine parabolic gems embedded 
in Luke's record of the Perean ministry. A lawyer one 
day asked Jesus the way to eternal life. After recognition 
on the part of the lawyer that love to God and his neigh- 
bor was the way of life, and on his asking who his neigh- 
bor was, Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, who, 
on finding a suffering Jew beside the road beaten and 
half dead, helped him and took him to the inn for the 
night, paying his bill in addition to giving him personal 
attention, although the Levite and the priest had utterly 
disregarded his sufferings. Jesus asked him who was 
neighbor to the suffering man, and the lawyer replied, 
"He that showeth mercy on him." In this incident Jesus 
emphasizes the subjective and not the objective side of 
the neighbor question, which is not, who is my neigh- 
bor, but to whom am I neighbor? All who suffer are my 
neighbors, and I am neighbor to them if I help them. 

4. Jesus At The Feast of Dedication. It was the 

month of December, about the time of our Christ- 
mas. Jesus and the disciples found a man born blind, and 
although the disciples were curious to know if Jesus would 
hold either of the rabbinic theories : that the man's sins 
or the parents' sins were the cause of his being born blind, 
Jesus ignores the question of casuistry and says that this 
man's condition is for the glory of God. He then healed 
the man by anointing his eyes with clay and spittle and 
commanding him to wash in the pool of Siloam. Because 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 99 



this occurred on the Sabbath, it deepened the spirit of 
opposition in the Pharisees. 

5. The Good Shepherd Keeps The Sheep. In John 
10 we find the charming allegory, Jesus is the good shep- 
herd. It is winter; the cold is coming; the wolves are out 
for food, and the flocks must be the objects of care by 
the true shepherd. Jesus thinks of His relation to His own. 
He is the good shepherd that always bears his rod of pro- 
tection and, to save the sheep from devouring wolves, lays 
down His own life. He knows each sheep in the flock 
and calls him by name, as the Palestinian shepherds do. 
More than that, the Father is greater than all, from whose 
hands none can pluck them. 

6. Jesus Teaches The Disciples To Pray. After 
claiming equality with His Father, He was stoned by the 
Jews and escaped to the east of the Jordan where He 
was praying one day, when a disciple requested, "Lord, 
teach us to pray also." He gave them the model prayer, 
as Luke records it, with only six items instead of the 
seven in Matthew, omitting "Thy will be done." The 
Father listens, as His children lisp His name in prayer, 
and gives them all they need — if they ask first that the 
Father's name be hallowed and glorified and that His 
kingdom come on earth. His children may ask for bread 
to feed their bodies, as well as forgiveness for the past 
sin and preservation in future temptations. 

7. He Denounces The Pharisees. Luke's record of 
the denunciation is brief (11:37-54), while Matthew gives 
a whole chapter (23). The striking feature of this de- 
nunciation is that Jesus was dining with a Pharisee, and 
sharing his hospitality, when He thunders these woes 
against the sins of the Pharisees. But Jesus was always 
a gentleman. He never attacked the individual Pharisee; 
it was the spirit of Pharisees (hypocrisy and ceremonial- 
ism) which He condemned. 

8. Jesus On The Use Of Money. In this period He 
gives the parable of the foolish farmer (Luke 12:13-20), 
in which He teaches that money does not make life, al- 
though it may cause one to lose eternal life. Also the 



100 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



parable of the rich man and Lazarus (latter half of Luke 
16), in which He teaches that money spent on self is im- 
properly used and must be punished with eternal torture. 
Incidentally He shows how wealth contributes to the loss 
of the soul, but Jesus never implies that poverty is a 
virtue, or wealth a vice. In the parable of the unrighteous 
steward (Luke 16:21), it teaches that men should be as 
wise in the right use of wealth for others as the steward 
was in securing for himself a good place in the future, 
in spite of his bankruptcy. 

9. New Laws For Banquets. In the first parable of 
Luke 14, Jesus teaches that humility is the queen of graces 
in the social life; also that a host must invite the poor 
and suffering, not his favorite kinsmen or rich neighbors; 
in the third parable, that God acts this way and welcomes 
to the feast of Christ the poor and suffering. 

10. Jesus And Sinners. As the friend of outcast sin- 
ners He eats and associates with them. The Pharisees 
murmured at this course of mercy, and so Jesus spoke 
these three parables (Luke 15) to show that He and all 
heaven rejoice at the reclamation of a lost sinner. 

11. Jesus Raises Lazarus. About this time the re- 
ligious home at Bethany is filled with sorrow at the ex- 
treme sickness of Lazarus. His sisters, because they be- 
lieved in Jesus' power and love, sent their messenger to 
Perea, but Jesus, for higher religious motives, to increase 
the faith of His disciples, possibly to win the yet doubt- 
ing Jews, stayed two days in Perea before starting for 
Bethany. At last He arrives in Bethany, and to prove 
that He is the resurrection and the life, he raises Lazarus 
from the tomb and gives him back to his weeping sisters. 

12. Zacchaeus, Another Tax Collector, Converted. He 
had purchased the right to collect the Roman taxes in the 
district around Jericho. He was a grafter and had be- 
come rich, but, in spite of being so great a sinner, was 
desirous of meeting Jesus. He permitted no difficulties 
to prevent this interview. He met Him at the foot of 
the sycamore tree, received Him and became a child of 
the promise, an example of the fact that Christ can save 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 101 

a great sinner, and the Christian religion can make a man 
honest and charitable. 

13. Mary Anoints Jesus. Jesus had given the par- 
able of the pounds to show that a time of service must in- 
tervene before the consummation of the kingdom, and 
was dining in the home of one Simon the leper, in Bethany, 
when Mary (probably the sister of Lazarus) came in with 
a flask of spiknard and, crushing the cask, poured the 
costly nard on His head. Though Judas complained at 
the waste, Jesus saw in it the act of love and special prep- 
aration for His burial. 

VI. The Last Week in Jerusalem 

1. Jesus Proclaims Himself Messiah. Although under 
the shadow of His impending death, from the Mount of 
Olives Jesus sends two disciples to find an ass, the animal 
of royalty, and upon this animal He rides into Jerusalem. 
The procession following Jesus was a triumphal march, 
publicly proclaiming Him as the King of the Jews. Jesus 
meant it so. And as the hundreds of disciples in the pro- 
cession carried palm branches, the symbol of victory, and 
shouted, "Blessed is the King that comes in the name of 
the Lord," this demonstration only intensified the op- 
position of the leaders and deepened their purpose to put 
Him to death. 

2. He Silences His Enemies. Hitherto the opposi- 
tion has not been official, but now the Sanhedrin lays 
official plans to put Him to death. He cleansed the tem- 
ple again and drove out the money changers and the sellers 
of the animals of sacrifice. The leaders approach Him 
on the temple square and challenge Him to tell by what 
authority He is doing such drastic deeds. He answers 
by asking a question with a dilemma, the taking of either 
horn of which exposed them to inconsistency. Whence is 
the baptism of John, from heaven or of men? They were 
silent. 

3. He Levels Three Parables Against The Leaders. 

These are the parables of the wicked husbandmen, of 
the two sons, and of the marriage of the king's son. They 
felt the sting of this thrust, for they knew He meant they 



102 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



were the wicked husbandmen who killed the king's son, 
the son who promised but went not, the invited guests 
"not worthy to share the wedding feast." As a counter 
thrust, they addressed three questions to catch Him in 
His words. The first was by the Pharisees and Herodians 
concerning paying tribute to the Roman government. Be- 
cause He saw their chicanery He adroitly replied, "Ren- 
der unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God 
the things that are God's." The second was by the Sad- 
ducees, who presented the 'ridiculous issue of seven men 
claiming the same woman in the resurrection. Jesus re- 
plied that their own Scriptures (the Pentateuch, in which 
the Sadducees believed) taught that Jehovah was the God 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and since He is a living 
God, He cannot be the God of dead men, and, therefore, 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be still living. He re- 
minds them also that the saved shall be like the angels 
in heaven and will not live in pairs; the sex relations 
vanish with death. The third question of the lawyer, as 
to the greatest commandment, was answered directly, 
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
strength." 

4. Jesus* Unanswerable Question. To silence the 
leaders, His enemies, still more irresistibly, He turned 
on them and asked them the unanswerable question, "How 
is the Messiah David's son and Lord too?" They could 
not answer and, in utter discomfiture, ceased questioning 
Him. 

5. His Last Words In The Temple. He is now de- 
livering His last message in His Father's house. While 
in the court of women observing how the people made 
their free-will offerings for the temple service, He noticed 
a poor widow cast into the trumpet-shaped vessel two 
mites, about two-fifths of one cent, one-fourth of a day's 
wages. This was all she had, and Jesus said, "She hath 
cast in more than they all." Our gifts are measured by 
what we have left, not by what we give. 

6. The Greeks Seek Jesus. This inquiry of the 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 103 



Greeks awakened mingled emotions of sadness and glad- 
ness. It reminds Him that "His own" had rejected Him, 
but "with joy" He turns to His cross as the magnet to 
draw the nations to Him. "And I, if I be lifted up, will 
draw all men unto myself." This hour of death is the 
hour when "the Son of Man shall be glorified." 

7. He Discourses On The Last Things. (Matt. 24 
and 25; Mark 13; Luke 21:5 to 38). The disciples were 
admiring the beautiful stones in the magnificent build- 
ing of the temple, with its surrounding courts and col- 
onnades, and called the attention of Jesus to the same. 
He was thinking of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruc- 
tion of the temple. He and the little band then sat down 
on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, and there 
they asked Him, "When shall these things be, and what 
shall be the sign?" He then talked to them about the 
fall of Jerusalem and the signs attending the consumma- 
tion of the age, so blending the two that it is wellnigh im- 
possible to separate them (so Broadus). 

8. Judas Sells His Master. One of the strangest oc- 
currences in the ministry of Jesus is the defection of 
Judas. How could he associate with the Nazarene three 
years without feeling the sunshine of His love or seeing 
the glory of His messianic character? But Judas had a 
soul of the lower order, selfish, covetous, ambitious, and 
for thirty pieces of silver (about twenty dollars, the price 
of a common slave), he sold the Master into the hands of 
His enemies. 

9. At The Passover Supper He Institutes the Memor- 
ial Supper. To the last Jesus adhered to the noble forms 
of Jewish worship and kept the last Passover with His 
disciples. He went up to Jerusalem to offer Himself as 
the paschal lamb for the salvation of the world. He in- 
stitutes the Memorial Supper to be observed by His church 
as a memorial of His sufferings as the paschal lamb slain 
for the sins of the world. The bread He and the disciples 
ate represents His body, and the cup of wine, His ''blood 
of the covenant which is poured out for many." The wine 
crushed from the grape represents the crushing out of 



104 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



His divine life for the sins of the world. The covenant 
of redemption is made effective for the saving of sinners, 
by the pouring out of the Messiah's blood. 

10. His Farewell Discourse To His Disciples. Be- 
fore leaving the upper room, He delivers an address of 
comfort and promise (Jno. 14-16). He assures them He 
is coming back to take them to be with Himself and prom- 
ises the Holy Spirit to take His place on earth, as their 
helper. 

11. His Intercessory Prayer. As He thinks of His 
bereft disciples, He tenderly prays the Father to keep, 
sanctify, unify, use in His service, and at last glorify them 
with Himself. The oneness for which He prays is spir- 
itual union similar to that of the Father and Son. 

12. In Gethsemane. The last few days have brought 
a crushing depression upon His spirit. How can He bear 
the rejection of His own people? How can the Innocent 
One endure the punishment of the guilty? On reaching 
this garden at the foot of Olivet He stations eight of His 
disciples at the gate while He retires with Peter, James, 
and John to a secluded spot to pray. He takes these three, 
for they are in closest sympathy with Him, and He needs 
their fellowship in this hour of agony "even unto death." 
Three times He prays the prayer of bitter depression but 
of sweet submission to the Father's will. At last He 
conquers. 

13. He Is Betrayed and Arrested. Judas had been 
plotting for five days to find the psychological moment to 
deliver the Master to His enemies. He thought the mid- 
night hour the best time for such a deed of darkness. Feel- 
ing sure he would find the Master in Gethsemane, he leads 
hither a band of officers with lanterns and torches upon 
poles, and with weapons. Jesus had prayed Himself into 
victory, and calmly surrendered to them. 

14. He Is Tried in the Jewish Court. There were 
two separate trials of Jesus, one in the Sanhedrin, the Jew- 
ish court ; the other before Pilate in the Roman court. They 
led Him from Gethsemane first into the court of the Jews. 
During the dark hours of night they brought Him to 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 105 

Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the high priest. 
Their object was to get an informal sentence against Jesus 
from this old and honored leader. It was still before light 
when they took Him before the Sanhedrin to have Caia- 
phas pass an informal sentence against Him. Next morning 
the regular Sanhedrin convened, and He was formally 
tried. The trial was a legal farce, as they "sought wit- 
nesses against Him" whose testimony was inconsistent 
and false. He was sentenced on the charge of blasphemy. 

15. He Is Tried in the Roman Court. At this time 
the Sanhedrin had no authority to put a man to death, so 
Jesus must be tried in the Roman court if the death sen- 
tence is to be executed upon Him. So they lead Him to 
Pilate, the Roman governor, who was also judge of the 
Roman court. He was a political ruler, and this militated 
against a fair trial, even in a Roman court (usually noted 
for fairness in the trial of criminals). His enemies clam- 
ored for His death by crying that He was an insurrection- 
ist. Pilate sought to evade the responsibility of sentencing 
the prisoner and so sent Him to Herod Antipas. Herod 
admired his miracles but returned Him to Pilate for sen- 
tence. Against his conscience, but to please the Jews and 
make sure his position, he delivered up the "Innocent 
One" to be crucified. 

16. He Is Crucified and Buried. He was unable to 
bear His cross up Mount Calvary. They laid it upon Simon 
the Cyrenean. At nine o'clock they reached Golgotha, a 
peak resembling a human skull, from the distance, where 
they crucified Him. He hung on the cross for six hours 
before dying. Crucifixion was one of the most cruel forms 
of death, and was inflicted upon slaves and revolutionists. 
In spite of His agony, Jesus did not forget His mother, for- 
gave His enemies, saved the penitent thief, and at last com- 
mended His spirit to His Father. 

17. He Is Buried by the Rich. He was buried in 
Joseph's new tomb by the Arimathean, a wealthy member 
of the Sanhedrin, and by Nicodemus. At the request of His 
enemies, who feared the disciples would steal His body 



106 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



and claim He had risen from the dead, Pilate had the tomb 
sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers. 

VII. Jesus' Resurrection 

(Mt. 28: Mk. 16; Lu. 24; Jo. 20 and 21.) 

1. He Rises From the Dead. He slept in the grave 
Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night, but early on our 
Sunday morning the angel rolled back the stone from the 
door of the tomb, and Jesus came forth from the place of 
the dead. 

2. Theories of the Resurrection. The physical res- 
urrection of Jesus has been denied by many radical thinkers. 
Some have tried to explain away His resurrection, by say- 
ing that He was only in a swoon and merely revived. 
Others claim that the women and disciples merely had vis- 
ions of Him, or from their hallucinations drew the con- 
clusion that He had risen from the dead. Others say that 
Jesus' spirit persisted in living, and that is the only resur- 
rection needed. The accounts of the New Testament clear- 
ly set forth the physical resurrection of Jesus. Of course, 
this is a miracle, but God is as able to raise a dead body as 
He was to make man at first. 

3. Significance of the Resurrection. It is one of the 

basal doctrines of Christianity. It proved the claims of 
Jesus to be the Son of God and Savior of sinners. It 
shows that the Father accepted His sacrifice in His death, 
and thus He was raised, again for our justification. As the 
risen Christ, He is the source of spiritual life to the world. 
He could be no Savior if He were a mere dead Christ. 

4. The Appearances. The four gospels record dif- 
ferent appearances of Jesus to His disciples, while Paul 
(I. Cor. 15:5-8) records other appearances not in the gos- 
pels. There are three unanswerable proofs for the resur- 
rection of Jesus — the empty tomb, the ten or eleven appear- 
ances during the forty days, and the final appearance to 
Paul some years later. Are these appearances credible? 
Did these women and men really see Jesus, talk and eat 
with Him, as is claimed, or were they under the spell 
of "hallucination?" There is no logical explanation of 



A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST 107 



their sublime faith and unspeakable sufferings, unless they 
knew they had seen and heard the risen Christ. 

He appeared to them at least ten times — at first to 
Mary Magdalene, who had been so marvelously saved and 
who loved Him so tenderly; to Cleopas and another on 
the road to Emmaus ; then to Peter; to the ten, Thomas 
being absent; to the eleven, Thomas being present; then 
to the seven fishermen disciples on the beach of Galilee ; 
then to James, His half-brother; to five hundred disciples in 
Galilee; to the eleven again, when He gave the Great 
Commission; at last, on the fortieth day of the resurrec- 
tion period, on Olivet He meets them for the last time, and 
ascends to the Father's right hand. 



CHAPTER XII 



THE ACTS 

We now come to consider the last of the historical 
books of the New Testament. This is the history of the 
early church, while the other historical books give us the 
history of Jesus' life and teachings. 

The Writer 

The New Testament scholarship of the world, for near- 
ly half a century, has been and is now divided on the Lucan 
authorship of this first history of Christianity. Against 
the Lucan authorship stand some of the great names of 
German scholarship, Konigoman, De Wette, Baur, Zeller, 
Hilgenfeld, Holtzmann (H. J.), Overbeck, Hausrath, Weiz- 
sacker, Wendt, Schiirer, Pfleider, von Soden, Spitta, 
Julicher, J. Weiss, Kopf, C. Clemen. Quite a few Ameri- 
can scholars, McGiffert and others; also some of the Eng- 
lish and French scholars, stand with this galaxy of Ger- 
man thinkers against the Lucan authorship of Acts. On the 
other hand, there is just as distinguished a list of New 
Testament scholars who stand for the Lucan authorship, 
viz. : Credner, B. Weiss, Klosterman, Renan, Hobart, Sir 
William Ramsay, Sir John Hawkins, Plummer, Vogel, 
Blass, Harnack, Zahn, Ropes, F. C. Burkitt, and the great 
host of conservative New Testament scholars. 

The Evidence on the Lucan Authorship 

1. External. It is evident that nearly all the writers 
of the early church regarded Luke, the physician and com- 
panion of Paul, as the author. We find distinct references 
to the book of Acts, and most of the references implying 
the Lucan authorship, in the writings of Irenseus, the Mura- 
torian Fragment, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Poly- 
crates of Ephesus, and in many other early Christian writ- 
ers. 

2. Internal. If we compare the third gospel and the 
book of Acts, we will find a striking similarity as to vocabu- 



THE ACTS 



109 



lary, grammatical constructions, style in general, and the 
theological point of view. 

According to the conclusions of Hobart and Harnack, 
the vocabulary of both books contains a large number 
of medical terms, which fact points to Luke the physician 
as the writer of both books. Again the similarity of style 
in the so-called "We" passages and the remaining portions 
of the book of Acts suggests that the writer of the "We" 
passages was also the writer of the whole book. It is 
fairly well agreed upon by New Testament scholars that 
Luke wrote the "We" passages. The "We" in these pass- 
ages suggests that the writer was in the missionary group 
with Paul, and so includes himself in the term "We." 
There are also many other literary marks in the book of 
Acts which point to the identity of the authorship of these 
two books. 

The Sources 

Most of the material in the book of Acts is historical 
in nature, and so the writer must have had recourse to some 
historical sources from which he drew his facts. These 
sources may have been either historical documents or oral 
tradition of the facts and scenes from eye witnesses, or they 
may have been the personal knowledge of the writer him- 
self as an eye witness. 

1. A Jewish-Christian Written Source. It is likely 
that most of the first five chapters is taken from this source. 
The reason for supposing that Luke had before him a Jew- 
ish-Christian document setting forth the facts of these early 
chapters, is that the grammatical constructions and general 
style are intensely Jewish. Luke the writer is not com- 
posing freely according to his own literary tastes, but is 
faithfully following his Jewish-Christian source. 

2. Hellenistic Christian Source. From the beginning 
of the account of Stephen, on to the close of the eighth 
chapter, the material in the book of Acts is not so intensely 
Jewish as that in the first five chapters. We find Hellen- 
istic marks in these three chapters, and it is possible that 
Luke has before him another document produced by some 
Hellenistic Christian as the source of his narratives in these 



110 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



chapters. On the other hand, it is possible that Luke did 
not have before him a document setting forth the facts 
of these chapters, but that he received the data of these 
chapters from Philip the evangelist or others with the 
Hellenistic-Christian spirit. 

3. The "We" Document. It is likely that Luke used 
his own missionary memoranda, which we call the "We" 
document, as the source for most of the material crowded 
into the chapters 13 to 28. 

4. Jewish-Christian Tradition. There are various 
sections in the book, like the account of the Apostle's con- 
version in 9:1-31, which seem not to be based on written 
material. For all this material the writer was doubtless in- 
debted to Jewish-Christian tradition. 

It is useless to deny that Luke used the writings of 
Josephus as a source in the composition of the book of 
Acts. (See chapter on Luke.) 

The Purpose 

1. Not Conciliatory in Design. It is held by some 
of the extreme critics that he wrote this early history of 
Christianity in order to reconcile the Jewish and Gentile 
elements in the early churches supposed to be in severe 
conflict with each other. According to this view, Luke 
writes a harmonizing history of these early events and 
struggles. Those who hold this theory are disposed to dis- 
credit the historical statements in the book as not per- 
fectly reliable. To say the least of it, this is surely an 
extreme view of the book. 

2. Supplement to the Third Gospel. The writer 
seems to be writing to show how the apostles and the early 
disciples carried on the work which Jesus began. The 
very first sentence in the book (1:1) suggests this idea. 
Jesus had begun the business of teaching and evangelizing 
the world. The third gospel tells us what Jesus did in 
person on earth. The book of Acts tells us what the early 
followers of Jesus, who were endued by the Holy Spirit 
and enthusiastic in loyalty to their risen Lord, continued to 
do in the bringing of His kingdom and its glorious con- 
summation on earth. 



THE ACTS 



111 



3. Historical Design. Luke evinces the spirit of the 
genuine historian. He sits down to write a somewhat or- 
derly account of these things for the benefit of his Chris- 
tian friend and patron, Theophilus, and other readers. 

4. Roman Favor Extended. Sir William Ramsay, in 
his "St. Paul the Traveler," emphasizes the point that 
Luke writes this book of early church history to make 
prominent the favor which the Roman officials nearly 
always extended to Paul on his missionary tours. This is 
possibly true. 

5. To Show the Universal Note in Christianity. 

Here we reach the climax in the purpose of the writer. 
He selects from the lives and the labors of the early apos- 
tles, and of Paul and other workers, just those events and 
crises, and only those, that mark the outward sweep of 
the gospel to the whole world. Only a little over eleven 
chapters are devoted by the writer to narrating the works 
of the early apostles in evangelizing the Jews, while over 
sixteen chapters are devoted to the record of the conver- 
sion of Paul and his great missionary career. Surely the 
spirit of the book is intensely cosmopolitan, and, there- 
fore, the purpose of the writer, more than anything else, 
was to strike the universal note in Christianity and show 
how its early history pointed to its being the world-wide 
religion. 

Date 

New Testament scholars differ widely as to the date 
of composition — from 61 to 150 A. D. Blass, Hitzig, and 
most ultra-conservative scholars place the date somewhere 
between 61 and 70. Sir William Ramsay, Meyer, Renan, B. 
Weiss, and some others are disposed to push the date 
forward as late as 80. Many of the New Testament critics 
date it between 90 and 100, and a few of the Dutch schol- 
ars place it even as late as 125-150. 

1. Subsequent to the Third Gospel. If Luke means 
by "the former treatise" our third gospel, the book of Acts 
must be later than the gospel of Luke. But, as seen above, 
both the external references and the internal character- 
istics point to Luke as the writer of both books. Hence, 



112 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



it is our conclusion that the book of Acts must have been 
written subsequent to the writing of the third gospel ; 
that is, subsequent to the year 70. 

2. As to Paul's Martyrdom. It is not conclusive argu- 
ment against the date subsequent to Paul's death, to urge 
that if it had been written after such a great event in the 
early church, Luke would have referred to it. His purpose 
to show the favor of the Roman officials towards Paul 
would have made such a reference irrelevant. 

3. The Bearing of Luke's Age on the Date. The nat- 
ural impression we get of Luke when he first meets Paul 
in Philippi, is that he is a young man, or certainly not 
over forty years of age. If this supposition be true, he 
could have written the book of Acts as late as 90 and still 
not be as old as the Apostle John when he wrote the fourth 
gospel. This is a mere possibility. It is much more prob- 
able that Luke wrote his second book in the first decade 
following the writing of his first book, since the two books 
form a connected account of the founding and early progress 
of Christianity. In view of this consideration, we would 
fix the date of Acts at about 70-75. 

The Text 

There is an intricate problem as to the transmission of 
Luke in two possible early editions. But this problem be- 
longs strictly to textual criticism, and the inquisitive stu- 
dent is referred to such books for the consideration of this 
problem. In this place we wish merely to state that the 
book of Acts, like the gospels, is contained in the five old- 
est Greek manuscripts, the Sinaitic, the Vatican, the Alex- 
andrian, Codex Ephraemi, and Codex Bezse. It is also 
transmitted in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the 
Fourth Century, in two of the Syriac versions, and in two 
Coptic (Egyptian) translations. 

The Addresses 

There is a large number of addresses in the book of Acts. 

1. Addresses of Peter. There are nine by Peter the Apostle; one 
at the election of Matthias (1:16-22); at Pentecost (2:14b-36); from 
Solomon's porch (3:15b-26); to the Sanhedrin before His imprison- 
ment (4:8b-12); to the Sanhedrin after His release (5:29b-32); to 
Simon Magus (8:20-25); to Cornelius' household (10:34b 43); to the 



THE ACTS 



113 



apostles and Jerusalem Christians (11:5-17); to the Jerusalem con- 
ference (15:7-11). 

2. Addresses of Paul. The addresses of Paul are as follows: In 
Pisidian Antioch (15:16b-41); to the Lystrans (14:15-17); to the 
Athenians (17:22b-31); to the Ephesian elders (20:18b-35); to the 
Jewish people in Aramaic (22:1-21); before Felix (24:10b-21); before 
Agrippa (26:2-23); to the ship's crew (27:21-26); to the Jews in 
Rome (28:17-20). 

3. Addresses by Others. There are addresses by Gamaliel, in 
Sanhedrin (5:35b-39); by Stephen (7:2-52); by James at the Jerusalem 
conference (15:15b-21); by Demetrius to the workmen in Bphesus 
(19:25b-27); by the town clerk to the mob (19:35b-40); by Lysias to 
Felix (23:14b-21 and 25:24-27). 

4. Composition of These Addresses. The diction and style of 
the Petrine and Pauline addresses are more like the diction and style 
of Luke than of Peter and Paul in their epistles. This would suggest 
that Luke freely composed these addresses in his own diction and 
style, though basing all his statements on the facts in the sources 
before him, whether written or oral. This is the rule among Greek 
and Latin authors in the record of great speeches. But we have no 
reason to believe that Luke added anything to, or subtracted any- 
thing from, the data in his sources, which would affect the facts 
or truths involved. 

Historical Value of the Book 

Keim and the author of Supernatural Religion question 
the reliability of some of the historical statements in the 
book of Acts. But Harnack thinks Luke is a real historian, 
He writes in the historical spirit. This is evident in his 
gospel, but still more so in the book of Acts. 

1. Tendency Spirit. The historical value of the book 
is not to be set aside because the author had a definite 
purpose in writing his book. Baur and Holtzmann urged 
this tendency spirit in the book of Acts as an argument 
against its historicity. But every great historian has a 
definite purpose. Yet no fair-minded historical critic can 
urge that this destroys the credibility of history. 

2. No Conflict With Paul. As compared with Paul's 
epistles, we find no necessary conflict in the narrative of 
the same events. Much of the period covered by Luke in 
the book of Acts is also covered by Paul in his epistles. 
There is a beautiful harmony between the two accounts, 
after you make due allowance for the different purposes of 
the two authors. Compare the accounts of the Jerusalem 
conference, one in Acts 15:1-33, the other in Gal. 2:1-10; 
the relation of Paul to the Twelve, one account in Acts 
9:26-30, the other in Gal. 1:18-21. In the latter, Paul and 
Luke seem to contradict each other as to Paul's intimacy 



114 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



with the Twelve. There are no inconsistencies in the 
two accounts. Luke is trying to show that Paul was 
kindly received by the Twelve; Paul is showing that he 
could not have received his gospel from them because he 
had so limited intercourse with them. 

The Galatian account of the Jerusalem conference says 
that Paul went up to the conference "by revelation"; that 
is, he had a spiritual conviction from the Spirit that this 
was the way to settle the question at issue. Luke says the 
church in Antioch appointed Paul and Barnabas to attend 
the conference. The two accounts blend perfectly. The 
church merely did what the Spirit impressed Paul should 
be done. 

3. Confirmed by Archeology. Again, discoveries in 
archeology bear testimony to the reliability of Luke's his- 
torical statements. Luke says that Cyprus was under a 
proconsul when Paul visited it on the first evangelistic 
journey. This we find to be the historical fact between 
the year 22 and the early part of the Second Century, ac- 
cording to the historical inscriptions. 

Luke calls the magistrates of Philippi strategoi but 
those of Thessalonica, politarchs, which students of 
antiquity have verified. The author also knows 
that Derbe and Lystra, but not Iconium, are cities of 
Lycaonia. There are many other evidences from archeol- 
ogy as to Luke's reliability as a historian. 

4. The Rating of Paul and Luke. As to historical 
value, when referring to the same events or facts, it is 
to be remembered that Paul is a direct, first-hand account 
of events and scenes in his own life, while Luke is second 
hand. But this does not minimize the historical value of 
Luke. It means that we must harmonize Luke with Paul, 
and not Paul with Luke. 

Luke's historical references in the ''We" passages 
where he is eye and ear witness, are exact, vivid, and thrill- 
ing. His statements are more general in the first twelve 
chapters; more specific and vivid in the last sixteen. 



THE ACTS 



115 



The Chronology Involved in the Book 

Luke does not date any of his historical references 
exactly as to year or month. But we know from secular 
history the dates of many of his references. For example, 
the famine in the time of Claudius (11:28) occurred about 
45 ; the arrival of Festus to succeed Felix as procurator, 
about 57-59, which facts are obtained from sifting the state- 
ments of Tacitus, Josephus, and Eusebius. Now Paul was 
arrested two years before (Acts 24 :2y) ; that is, in 55-57. 
This helps -to fix the date of his third missionary tour 
(54-57). The Jerusalem conference came after the first 
missionary tour, and the second would be just after the 
Jerusalem conference, which occurred in 50 or 51. Then 
the first missionary tour occurred between the famine and 
the Jerusalem conference, for Paul had returned from 
Jerusalem with alms to his nation (11:25) and begins the 
first missionary tour in 13:11. Paul was converted sev- 
eral years before the famine, for he spent three years in 
Arabia and had retired to Syria-Cilicia, whence Barnabas 
took him to Antioch. 

From these data we construct our chronology of the 
apostolic age as covered in the book of Acts : 

The death of Christ, March-April, 29. 
Pentecost, June, 29. 

The opposition of the Sadducees and the early imprisonment of 
Peter and John, 30. 

The judgment of Ananias, 31. 

The election of the first deacons, 33. 

The martrydom of Stephen, 34 or 35. 

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, 35 or 36. 

Saul in Arabia, 36-37. 

Saul in Syria-Cilicia, 37-43. 

Saul in the Antioch revival, 43-44. 

Saul visits Jerusalem with alms for his people, 45-46. 

The first missionary tour, 47-49. 

The Jerusalem conference, 50-51. 

The second missionary tour, 52-53. 

The third missionary tour, 54-57. 

Paul in prison in Caesarea, 57-59. 

Paul in prison in Rome, 60-62. 

Paul's release, 63. 

Paul imprisoned again and beheaded, 64 or 65. 

Characteristics 
i. Vocabulary. It shows the widest use of words of 
any book found in the New Testament. According to 
Thayer over eight hundred words in Luke and Acts occur 



116 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



nowhere else in the New Testament. Four hundred and 
seventy-eight occur only in this book. His vocabulary is 
in sharp contrast with that of John. The latter is limited 
and simple ; the former is large and somewhat literary. 

2. Constructions and General Style. Luke uses even 
a better Greek in Acts than in the third gospel, especially 
in the latter half of the book. In the early chapters he 
seems to be trammelled with Jewish-written sources, which 
influence his constructions and style. His use of participles 
resembles the classic usage of Demosthenes and Thucy- 
dides. He alone, in the New Testament, expresses pur- 
pose with the future participle. He employs the old 
usage of the optative rather freely. 

3. Pauline and Cosmopolitan. He devotes nearly 
two-thirds of his book to the narrating of Paul's career, 
while only a few chapters to the rest of the apostles. Rome 
seems to be his goal, and when Paul finally gets to Rome, 
although as a prisoner, and is preaching the gospel there, 
the writer seems satisfied to lay down his pen. The plan of 
the book is to move from the first center of Christianity 
outward to all the world. He starts with Jerusalem as the 
first center, but afterwards Syrian-Antioch becomes the 
center. Corinth, the capital of Greece, becomes another 
center, Ephesus in Asia, another mighty center for all the 
country about it, and at last Rome, the capital of the civi- 
lized world, becomes the radiating center of the universal 
gospel. Christianity is universal in its spirit and must be 
universal in its scope. 

4. Intensely Spiritual. The writer is specially anx- 
ious to tell about the work of the Holy Spirit in those early 
years. He describes Pentecost and the baptism in the Holy 
Spirit, which resulted in a great revival that spread to the 
distant provinces of the Roman empire. He refers to the 
work of the Holy Spirit more often than any other New 
Testament writer. The favorite expression of the writer 
in describing the operation of the Holy Spirit on the early 
believers is, "They were filled with the Holy Spirit." 
This implies the complete enduement and possession of the 
Christian by the Spirit. 



THE ACTS. 



117 



General Outline 

I. Introduction, the Commission to the Apostles (1:1-11). 

II. Christianity in Jerusalem (1:12-8:3). 

1. The apostles named and Judas' successor elected (1:12-26). 

2. The Spirit is given on Pentecost (2:1-13). 

3. Peter's address and three thousand baptized (2:14-47). 

4. Healing of the infirm man and opposition of the Sadducees 
(3:1-26). 

5. Imprisonment of Peter and John and Peter's defense before 
the Sanhedrin and the church's prayer (4:1-31). 

6. The brotherly fellowship of the early church, Ananias and 
Sapphira stricken (4:32-5:16). 

7. Second imprisonment of Peter and John, and speech of 
Gamaliel (5:17-42). 

8. Election of the first deacons (6:1-7). 

9. Preaching of Stephen (6:7-15). 

10. Stephen's recorded address (7:1-53). 

11. Death of Stephen and persecution of the church (7:54-8:3). 

III. Christianity in Judea and Samaria (8:4-12:25). 

1. Philip evangelizes Samaria and baptizes the Ethiopian Cham- 
berlain (8:4-40). 

2. Conversion of Saul (9:1-30). 

3. Expansion of Christianity (9:31). 

4. Peter at Lydda and Joppa (9:23-43). 

5. Conversion of Cornelius and gift of the Spirit to the heathen 
(10:1-48). 

6. Discussion at Jerusalem of Peter's preaching to the Gentiles 
(11:1-18). 

4. Peter at Lydda and Joppa (9:32-43). 

7. The church at Antioch founded (11:19-26). 

8. Collection to the poor in Jerusalem (11:27-30). 

9. Persecution and death of Herod Agrippa I. (Chap. 12). 

IV. Christianity on Its Way to Rome and the World (Chaps. 13-28). 

1. Paul and Barnabas sent out from Antioch (15:1-3). 

2. First missionary journey of Barnabas and Paul (13:4-15:35); 
(a) On Cyprus (13:4-12); (b) At Antioch in Pisidia (13:13- 
52); (c) At Iconium (14:1-7); (d) at Lystra (14:8-20); (e) 
At Derbe and return to Syrian Antioch (14:21-28); (f) Jeru- 
salem conference (15:1-35). 

3. Second missionary Journey of Paul (15:36-18:33); (a) The 
churches revisited (15:36-16:5); (b) Journey into Europe, at 
Philippi (16:6-40); (c) At Thessalonica and Berea (17:1-16); 

(d) At Athens (17:16-34); (e) At Corinth (18:1-18); (f) Re- 
turn to Antioch in Syria (18:19-21); (g) Paul's fourth visit 
to Jerusalem (18:22). 

4. Third missionary journey (18:23-21:16); (a) In Galatia 
lg:23); (b) Apollos at Ephesus (18:23-24:28); (c) Paul at 
Ephesus (19:1-41); (d) In Macedonia and Greece (20:1-6); 

(e) At Troas (20:7-12); (f) On his way to Jerusalem (20:13- 
21:16). 

5. Paul's arrest and troubles in Jerusalem (21:13-21:16). 

6. At Csesarea in imprisonment; appeared before Felix and 
Festus (23:12-26:32). 

7. Journey to Rome and shipwreck (27:1-28:16). 

8. Paul preaching in Rome (28:17-31). 



PART III 

Life and Letters of Paul 

CHAPTER XIII 

PAUL'S WORLD, EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING 

Since this man lived and wrote so long ago, and since 
the conditions were so different in his day, in order to under- 
stand Paul and his writings, we must study the world in 
which he was born and reared. We who live in the Twen- 
tieth Century of the Christian era, with all the advantages 
of modern discoveries and inventions, and in a civilization 
that has grown to such marvelous proportions, can scarce- 
ly make real to our minds the kind of world in which Paul 
lived. But we must know that world in order to know the 
man and his writings. We must know the commercial, 
intellectual, moral, social, and religious conditions which 
formed the atmosphere breathed by this illustrious man 
of the First Century, while in the process of development 
from childhood to maturity. 

The Roman World 
i. Extent of the Roman Empire. The Roman Em- 
pire covered the most of Europe, much of Western Asia and 
North Africa. It included in its domain the countries 
of Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Spain, Gaul (France), 
Britain, Germany, Asia Minor, the provinces in the Tigris 
and Euphrates valley, etc. The dominion of the Caesars 
extended from Britain and Germany on the north, to the 
province of Africa on the south; from the Tigris and Eu- 
phrates rivers on the east, to the pillars of Hercules on the 
west. Indeed, all the enlightened world had been sub- 
jugated by the Roman armies and fleets. Before the days of 
Paul Augustus had consolidated the Roman Empire, and 
peace and unity prevailed throughout the known world. 
We see the hand of Providence at work in uniting the na- 
tions of the earth under one mighty government and in 



PAUL'S WORLD, EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING 119 



one common speech, thus paving the way for the extensive 
missionary operations of the Apostle to the Gentiles. 

2. The Emperors of This Period. It will be helpful 
to the student of the Roman world to have a panoramic 
view of the emperors who ruled during the First Cen- 
tury of our era. 

Augustus, the man of peace, reigned from 31 of the 
previous century to the year 14 of the first Christian cen- 
tury. He was the great unifying personality of the tribes 
and nationalities and forces of the Roman Empire. Dur- 
ing his time lived and wrote several of the great classic 
authors, Vergil, Livy, Horace, and Ovid. 

Tiberius succeeded Augustus on the throne in the year 
14 of the First Century. He was sour and cruel, but the 
empire was fairly prosperous. During his reign lived and 
taught Jesus and Seneca, as well as Paul the Apostle. 
Seneca was the great Roman stoic philosopher who gave 
to the world some of its loftiest moral teachings from the 
purely speculative and philosophical point of view. Paul 
and Seneca were contemporaries, but it is not known 
whether or not they ever met, or whether either was in- 
influenced by the teachings of the other. Surely if there 
is any influence on either side, it would be most natural 
that Seneca should have felt the impress of the mighty 
moral teachings of the man of Tarsus. Tiberius died in 
the thirty-seventh year of the First Century, just after the 
conversion of Paul. 

Caligula then succeeded to the throne. He was luxur- 
ious and proud. He reigned only four years but evoked 
the hatred of the whole Jewish race, in that he sought to 
press emperor worship upon the Jews of Palestine and Alex- 
andria. 

Cladius then came to the throne in 41, while Paul was 
still at Tarsus, during those early unknown years of his 
Christian life. He was a weak ruler, but in spite of his 
weakness Rome still prospered. It was he who issued 
the decree that the Jews should quit the city of Rome, 
among whom were Aquila and Priscilla. He was the ruler 
of Rome through the busiest years of the Apostle's life. 



120 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



He died in the year 54, about the time when Paul was be- 
ginning his third great missionary journey. 

Nero then took the reins of the Roman government. 
He was a wild extremist, voluptuous, and intent on the 
search for pleasure. He cruelly murdered his mother, con- 
demned Seneca, persecuted the Christians, and at last com- 
mitted suicide. It was under this emperor that Paul suf- 
fered his years of imprisonment in Caesarea and Rome, 
and at whose command the aged Apostle at last went to 
the block and sealed his faith in Christ with his own blood. 

Then came the Flavians, Vespasian, a good and wise 
ruler, and his sons Titus and Domitian. The latter was 
corrupt in private life, but a wise statesman and an able 
ruler. 

3. The World's Commerce. The Roman government 
had adopted several years before, and had put into splendid 
practice, a good policy of road building. There were 
Roman roads overland from Egypt up to Palestine and 
Phoenicia, thence eastward to Syria and Assyria. There 
were also Roman roads from the capital city of Rome 
northward and eastward into the provinces of Germany, 
Britain, Spain, and Gaul. There were also sea routes from 
Alexandria in Egypt to the west coast of Asia Minor, to the 
southern coast of Europe, thus putting the three conti- 
nents in close communication. Travel was extensive be- 
tween the cities of Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch in 
Syria, Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, etc. The 
usual modes of travel were by sailing vessels, on foot, and 
on donkeys. This made long journeys tedious and slow. 
Because of the difficulties of travel, the various parts of 
the Roman Empire were not so familiar with each other 
as are the various parts of the world today. The Roman 
world in Paul's day did not live face to face with each other 
as do the nations of the world in the Twentieth Century, 
who enjoy the privileges of steam and electricity, the tele- 
graph and the telephone, the daily paper and the wireless 
message. As to commercial relations between the various 
parts of the Roman Empire, it is well to remember that 
regular trade routes had been established between the large 



PAUL'S WORLD, EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING 121 



cities in the various parts of the empire — Rome, Alexan- 
dria, Ephesus, Corinth, Tarsus, etc. Some of these trade 
routes were overland, while others were on the waters of the 
Mediterranean, Adriatic, and other Eastern waters. The 
unity of the Roman Empire had fostered a growing com- 
mercial spirit throughout the Roman world. The commer- 
cial spirit had reached a higher point in the days of Paul 
than ever before in the history of nations. 

4. Greek the Language of the World. After three 
centuries of linguistic assimilation since the days of Alex- 
ander, the Greek language had become the common lan- 
guage of the people of the various provinces. Even 
in Rome itself Greek was spoken on the streets, in 
its homes, and in its shops. It was the prevailing 
language of the Roman capital. The Latin language 
had been supplanted in its own home by the 
Greek. The Latin still remained the language of law, 
but the Greek was the language of commerce, literature, 
and philosophy. Paul himself doubtless spoke Greek, al- 
though Aramaic was probably also spoken in the family 
circle in Tarsus. 

5. Rome's Provincial Policy. The imperial govern- 
ment was liberal in its policy toward the provinces, thirty- 
five or thirty-six in all. In the main, self-government was 
accorded the various provinces, but at the same time strict 
allegiance to the empire was required. Taxes were usually 
heavy, but the imperial government permitted most of 
the revenue to be spent on good roads and other domestic 
improvements in the provinces. Just enough of the taxes 
were held back by the imperial government to support the 
Roman army and supply the internal revenues. There 
were two kinds of provinces : the imperial, governed direct- 
ly by the emperor, and the senatorial, ruled especially un- 
der the advice of the Roman senate. The governor of the 
former was called the propraetor; of the later, a proconsul. 

6. Religion in the Empire. In the early half of the 
First Century, the imperial government allowed the prov- 
inces to retain their own religion and to worship their 
own gods. When new provinces were added to the empire, 



122 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



the gods of the new provinces were received into the pan- 
theon of Rome. The policy of Rome towards the Jews 
was usually favorable, except in the reigns of three em- 
perors. Caligula sought to force emperor-worship upon 
the Jews of Palestine and Alexandria. Claudius expelled 
from Rome with one sweeping decree several thousand 
Jews. Nero put the climax on this Jewish opposition by 
permitting the persecutions of his reign. The Christians 
in the time of Paul were usually unmolested. They suffered 
in the time of Nero, but it is probable that the Neronian 
persecution was pointed primarily against the Jews. The 
Christians suffered along with the Jews 'because Nero 
did not discriminate between Judaism and Christianity. As 
we have seen above, in the chapter on the book of Acts, 
the Roman officials in the provinces were usually favor- 
able to Paul and held over him the protecting arm of the 
Roman government. 

7. Morals in the Empire. In the First Century of 
our era the morals of the empire, both at home and through- 
out the provinces, were at a low ebb. Marriage had lost 
its sanctity and divorce was common. It was common for 
men and women to count the years of their lives by the 
number of their divorces. Lucretius and other Latin 
writers of the period paint lurid pictures of crime and im- 
morality everywhere. Paul gives a graphic delineation of 
Greek and Roman morals in Rom. 1 \21-32. The stoic 
philosophy, represented by such distinguished ethical teach- 
ers as Seneca, had somewhat curbed immorality and sen- 
suality, but not even stoicism, with its rigorous ethical 
demands, could check the tides of lasciviousness prevail- 
ing in those times. Men had lost faith in their gods and 
so had no exalted standard of right and duty. Epicureanism 
was the regnant philosophy of the day. Pleasure was the 
chief end of living. The Romans spent a large portion of the 
time in the theatres and amphitheatres. Greed for gain was 
also regnant in this age. Slavery of the lowest type pre- 
vailed. 



PAUL'S WORLD, EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING 123 



The Jewish World. 

In the First Century we find two general classes of 
Jews: 

1. Palestinian Jews. In the New Testament these 
are sometimes called Hebrews who, as to religion in the 
time of Paul, were divided into three great sects, the Phari- 
sees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. As seen before, the 
Pharisees were strict legalists and separatists who con- 
formed closely to the law of Moses and the rabbinic tra- 
ditions. The Sadducees denied the existence of the spirit 
world altogether and lived only for the present. The Es- 
senes were deeply pious and spiritual (for a full discussion 
of these sects see chapter 5). 

2. Foreign Born Jews. These were called Hellenistic 
Grsecians and included all the Jews born outside of Pales- 
tine. These foreign born Jews were usually loyal to the 
law of Moses and the Scriptures in general, though they 
were not so strict in their loyalty as the Palestinian Jews. 
Hellenistic ideas in philosophy, religion, morals, and lit- 
erature somewhat influenced the Jews born and reared in 
other lands. The travel of the Jews in the dispersion, and 
their contact with the world of culture and philosophy, 
broadened their ideas and sympathies. The Hellenistic 
Jews all spoke Greek, while the Palestinian Jews usually 
spoke Aramaic, although a little Greek. It is to be noted 
that the hand of divine Providence used the Hellenistic 
Jews to pave the way for cosmopolitan Christian missions. 
They exerted a good influence over the heathen wherever 
they lived. It was to these foreign born Jews and their 
proslytes that Paul made his first appeal on settling in 
a new center of missionary activity. These Jews helped 
to stem the tide of Greek and Roman immorality through- 
out the empire. The Romans paid high respect to the Jew- 
ish religion and morality. We have a good illustration of 
this in the New Testament, where the Roman centurion 
at Csesarea sends to Joppa for Peter the Jew to come and 
preach the gospel to him and his kinsmen and acquaint- 
ances. 



124 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



The Christian World 

It was not long after Jesus had ascended to heaven 
before two wings of Christianity had been developed. 
These were the intensely Jewish and the liberal Hellenistic 
parties of Christendom. 

1. Stephen, the Harbinger of Pauline Christianity. 
The early apostles were intensely Jewish in their views 
of the kingdom, and did not fully grasp the universal spirit 
of Christianity. Their loyalty to the law was too warm, 
and their prejudices against the Gentiles were too strong, 
to permit them to enter at once enthusiastically on the 
giving of the gospel to the nations of the earth. Stephen 
was the first great head of the Hellenistic wing of Chris- 
tianity. He taught that religion was a spiritual matter 
and that men could worship God anywhere as well as in 
the temple. He seems to have taught that men did not 
have to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. He 
was Paul's forerunner, the morning star to the great mis- 
sionary apostle, who taught that Christianity is universal 
in its sweep, for the Greek and the Roman, as well as for 
the Tews. 

2. What Christianity Achieved Before Paul. It is 

to be noted that before Paul enters the arena of mission- 
ary operation, Philip had evangelized Samaria and baptized 
the African chamberlain; that Peter, because of a special 
vision from God, had been induced to evangelize the Roman 
centurion, Cornelius, and other Gentiles in Caesarea. While 
these few marked outbursts of missionary enterprise are 
observed, at the same time there was an extreme Judaistic 
party in the church demanding circumcision and loyalty 
to Moses. Even the great middle class of Christians were 
still loyal to Judaism. But the wing led by Stephen, with 
his broad Hellenistic conception of Christianity, had leav- 
ened the lump and paved the way for the life and labors 
of the Apostle Paul. 

The Nativity 

He was born in Tarsus, the capital of the Roman 
province Cilicia, which also included Syria at that time. 
Tarsus was the seat of one of the world's greatest uni- 



PAUL'S WORLD, EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING 125 



versities. At this time there were three great cosmopolitan 
universities, the other two being at Athens and Alexandria. 
Tarsus was also a center of commerce, where the civiliza- 
tion of the East and the West blended (see Acts 21:39). 
The parents of Paul seem to have been strict Jews who 
adhered to the laws and customs of Judaism, even though 
they did live in a heathen land (see Phil. 5 :5ff ) . Jerome, 
in ancient times, held that Paul was born in Gischala in 
Galilee. He based his position largely on the phrase used 
by Paul in his letter to the Philippians, "Hebrew of He- 
brews." In modern times this view has been perpetuated 
by Krenkel and a few other New Testament scholars. But 
there seems to be scarcely anv doubt that Paul was a native 
of Tarsus. He thus belonged to the great class of Hellen- 
istic Jews, and was reared in the atmosphere of culture 
and philosophy in a university city. 

According to the custom with many Hellenistic Jews, 
the Apostle, in his childhood, bore two names. His Hebrew 
name was Saul and his Roman name was Paul. This is 
the theory accounting for his two names as held by Ram- 
say and many otner New Testament scholars. It is not 
likely that in his early life he bore only one name, Saul, 
and that this, on the island of Cyprus, at the conversion 
of Sergius Paulus, was changed to Paul. This view, how- 
ever, is held by some New Testament scholars. The above 
position is much more probable, since it is fairly well sub- 
stantiated by the historical facts. 

His Education 

On the subject of the Apostle's education, New Testa- 
ment scholars differ as to the details. Especially is there 
a wide difference of opinion as to whether his early train- 
ing was predominantly Jewish or Hellenistic. A question 
that is often asked is, Did Paul attend the universitv of 
Tarsus and study heathen literature and philosophy? New 
Testament scholars are divided on the answer to this ques- 
tion. There is some probabilitv that Paul did attend the 
university of Tarsus and study Greek literature and phil- 
osophy. Yet it cannot be asserted on the basis of positive 
proof that he did. On the other hand, if he did not, it is 



126 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

sure that he did imbibe its spirit of liberal culture and cos- 
mopolitanism, When we come to consider his Jewish 
training, we are sure that he did take a course in the rab- 
binic college in Jerusalem, under the celebrated teacher, 
Gamaliel. Here he studied Hebrew, the Old Testament 
Scriptures, and mastered the rabbinic theology. He also 
became master of dialectics while he was studying in Jeru- 
salem. He doubtless knew three languages, Hebrew, Ara- 
maic, and Greek, and could speek at least two of them, 
Aramaic, the language of his father's home, and Greek, 
the language of Tarsus. His quotations from the Old Tes- 
tament are mainly from the Septuagint, which fact shows 
that the Bible of his study was the Greek Bible. But he 
also shows a knowledge of Hebrew in some of his quota- 
tions. Moreover, he quotes from the Greek author at least 
two or three times, in his letters (I Cor. 15:38; Titus 1 :i2), 
and also in his address before the philosophers of Athens 
(Acts 17:38). Thus we see that, although Paul's educa- 
tion was intensely Jewish in that it was grounded on the 
doctrines of his fathers, yet he received the cosmopolitan 
spirit from his Tarsan birth and training. In other words, 
he was a "Hebrew of the Hebrews," but at the same time 
was of a liberal Hellenistic culture. 

His Roman Citizenship 

The city of Tarsus, after the Roman civil wars, re- 
ceived the title of Metropolis and the privilege of an "Urbs 
Libera"; that is, the honor of being a free city (Dio Chrys., 
Orations II, and Pliny, N. H., V. 27). As such, Tarsus had 
its local ecclesia, or assembly, and its own magistrates who 
managed its political affairs. It is likely that Paul's father 
held the municipal as well as the imperial franchise, and 
so Paul was by birth a Roman citizen and shared all the 
rights and privileges belonging to this world-honor. There 
is also some indication that Paul had a considerable knowl- 
edge of the Roman law. It is held by some New Testament 
scholars that the term "adoption" used by him in his let- 
ters is Grseco-Roman and not Jewish. However this may 
be, we can positively assert that in Paul the Hebrew, the 



PAUL'S WORLD, EARLY LIFE AND TRAINING 127 



Greek, and the Roman elements of civilization meet and 
blend. His early training contains the vital, essential ele- 
ments of all three great civilizations, and thus we have a 
man rounded out for the greatest task that has ever been 
assigned to any man in the Christian era. 

His Pharisaism 

In his letter to the Philippians, he calls himself "as 
touching the law, a Pharisee." Prior to his conversion, 
Paul was a strict legalist. He believed that righteousness 
was a human achievement; that a man could attain unto 
conformity to the divine will by keeping the external com- 
mandments of the written and oral law. As a Pharisee, 
he did not regard Jesus as a real messiah but as an im- 
postor. Therefore, he opposed Christianity and persecuted 
the church in Jerusalem. He took delight in the stoning 
of Stephen, the first martyr. Although it is not asserted 
in the book of Acts that he threw any stones at the martyr, 
we are told that the upper garments of those who did the 
bloody deed were laid at his feet (Acts 7:58-8:1). Some 
New Testament scholars, among whom is McGiffert in his 
History of the Apostolic Age, think that Paul had planned 
a world-wide missionary campaign for Judaism, and that 
he was on the road to Damascus in the execution of such 
a mission when he had his vision near Damascus and turned 
to Christianity. This is not certain, but there is some 
probability that it is true, because Paul as a man threw 
his whole soul into any cause in which he believed. 

On the other hand, we must bear in mind that Paul 
was no ordinary Pharisee. He could scarcely be classed 
with the grade of Pharisees denounced by Jesus in Matt. 
23. He was an intensely earnest man, and seems to have 
lived a clean moral life. Yet the doing of the law did not 
satisfy his conscience. The demands of the law only con- 
vinced him of his exceeding sinfulness and of his own per- 
sonal inability to attain perfect righteousness by the deeds 
of the law. 



CHAPTER XIV 



CONVERSION OF PAUL AND HIS EARLY CHRISTIAN 

CAREER 

One of the most remarkable conversions of the early 
centuries, or of any century, is that of Paul. His conver- 
sion is one of the great crises in the early history of Chris- 
tianity. Christianity had not in reality started outward to 
the nations of the earth until Paul became the cosmopolitan 
champion of the new religion. The early apostles had not 
fully grasped the Great Commission which Jesus delivered 
to them just before His ascension. Their early Jewish 
messianic idea had not yet become completely supplanted 
by the new teachings of Jesus. So, when this mighty cham- 
pion of Judaism was converted to the Christian faith, it 
was one of the greatest days in the history of all Christian- 
ity. Before his conversion he had been a persecutor of the 
church and had used all of his culture and personal powers 
to impede the progress of the church in Jerusalem. 

The Literary Accounts of His Conversion 

In the book of Acts there are three accounts of the 
conversion of Paul. The first one is given by the author 
himself, in his ninth chapter. The other two are recorded 
by the writer, as told by Paul himself, one in the twenty- 
second chapter, in which Paul is making his defense to 
the Jewish people by relating this account of his conver- 
sion; the other is in the twenty-sixth chapter, where Paul 
relates his experience in conversion in his address before 
King Agrippa II. 

It is to be noted that these three accounts of the Ap- 
ostle's conversion agree in the main points. On the other 
hand, there are some literary difficulties when we come 
to consider the details in the different accounts. Espe- 
cially does the second account given by Paul differ from the 
other two. In Paul's account before Agrippa, he adds the 
idea that the light came "at midday," but omits altogether 
the part played by Ananias. It is also to be noted that the 
writer, in his account in the ninth chapter, mentions only 



CONVERSION AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CAREER 129 



the high priest as the one who gives Paul his authority 
to persecute the Christians, while Paul in his account, as 
given before the Jewish people, refers to the chief priests. 
These are all minor matters, and do not affect the cred- 
ibility of the account as recorded by the writer of Acts. 
For the details as to the agreement and differences in the 
three accounts see the foot-note.* 

There are many references to Paul's conversion in his 
epistles; I Cor. 9:51; 15:8; Gal. 1 .15-17 ; 2:19; II Cor. 4:6; 
Phil. 3:7-11. 

The Nature of His Conversion 
1. A Gradual Change. There is scarcely any doubt 
but that this enthusiastic persecutor of the church had been 
undergoing a gradual change as to his conception of Jesus 
of Nazareth for some time before his experience on the 
road to Damascus. This gradual change terminated in the 
terrific crisis which came to him at midday while he jour- 



*The following- is a comparative statement of the three accounts: 



Luke's account in 
9:1-16 contains the 
following points : 
Saul, with papers 
from the High Priest 
to persecute Chris- 
tians in Damascus; 
the light from heaven 
suddenly shining 
around him ; Saul 
falling to the ground; 
a voice speaking to 
him; Saul's question; 
Christ's answer as to 
who He is and what 
Saul should do: the 
men with Saul hear- 
ing the voice but iee- 
ine- no one; Saul 
blinded, led into Da- 
mascus; Ananias 
helps and baptizes 
him. 



Paul's first account 
has the following 
points: Saul, with pa- 
pers from the High 
Priest and the elders, 
was persecuting 
Christians; the light 
from heaven sudden- 
ly shone around him; 
Saul falls to the 
ground; voice speaks 
to him; Saul's ques- 
tion; Christ's answer 
as to who He is (add- 
ing the phrase "of 
Nazareth") — the men 
saw the light but did 
not hear the voice; 
Christ tells him what 
to do; Saul, blinded, 
led into Damascus; 
Ananias helps and 
baptizes him. 



The second account, 
as told by Paul, has 
these points: Saul 
persecuting the 
saints; with papers 
from the chief 
priests; the light 
from heaven at mid- 
day shines around 
him and the men fall 
to the ground; the 
voice spoke to Saul 
in Hebrew, and add- 
ing the expression, 
"It is hard to kick 
against the goad'' ; 
Saul's question ; 
Christ's answer as to 
who He is (omitting 
the phrase "of Naz- 
areth") and what he 
should do. 



It is to be noted that these three accounts agree in the main 
points. They differ much in details, especially does the second 
account by Paul differ from the other two, adding the idea that the 
light came "at midday," and omitting altogether the part played by 
Ananias. It is to be noted that Luke's account mentions only the 
High Priest; Paul's first account, the High Priest and elders; the 
second account, the chief priests, as the ones who gave the authority 
to persecute the Christians. 



130 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



neyed to Damascus. He had been meditating upon his 
own inability to obtain righteousness by the deeds of the 
law and upon the possibility that Jesus of Nazareth was 
the true Messiah. It is likely that he had been in an un- 
settled state of mind and under conviction for sin ever since 
the stoning of Stephen. From that hour on he was be- 
coming more and more conscious of his own sinfulness and 
of the messiahship of Jesus. 

2. An Intellectual Change. He had before this ex- 
perience regarded Jesus as an impostor, but now he is 
convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah promised 
in the Old Testament Scriptures. The fact that He ap- 
pears to him after His death proves to his mind that Jesus 
has risen from the dead. We see in his writings later that 
the resurrection of Jesus was to Paul one of the chief evi- 
dences of His messiahship (see especially Rom. 1:4). 

3. A Spiritual Change. Here we touch the heart of 
the change. The change was not merely an intellectual 
one. Paul's relation to God was now changed. Before 
this experience he had looked upon God as a bookkeeper, 
rigidly keeping account of his deeds, and on himself as 
bound to atone for his shortcomings and evil deeds by 
his extraordinary good deeds. Now he knows God as a 
God of grace, and himself as a "child of God by faith in 
Christ/' as "saved by grace through faith." Before, he had 
been in bondage to the law, but now he is delivered from 
its thraldom and is "under grace," so far as his hope of sal- 
vation is concerned. 

4. A Moral Change. Although Paul, previous to his 
conversion, was probably an upright and moral man, yet 
his conversion to Christianity meant also a great moral 
change. Before this remarkable experience, he hated Chris- 
tians, persecuted the church, and was instrumental in im- 
prisoning good men and women who loved Jesus Christ 
as their Savior and Lord. Now he summons all the pow- 
ers of his being to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, and as the 
Son of God. He has a "faith that works by love." He loves 
all men, Gentiles as well as Jews, and feels that he is a 
debtor to give the gospel to the Greek and the barbarian, 



CONVERSION AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CAREER 131 



yea, to all the nations of the world. Moreover, there was 
a keen consciousness of his exceeding sinfulness ever after 
his Damascus experience. He never forgot that he had 
been a hater and persecutor of Jesus' followers (I Tim. 
i:i3-i5). 

5. The Nature of His Vision. The vision which Paul 
had on the road to Damascus has been variously estimated. 
It was called an "hallucination" by the fanciful Frenchman, 
Renan; a merely subjective psychological process, by the 
cold, calculating Pfleiderer (Hibbert Lectures, pp. 33, 34) ; 
an ecstatic vision, by Holstein; an objective vision, that is, 
a vision of Christ in His risen spiritual body, by all con- 
servative New Testament scholars. For an explanation 
of this last view, see Edwards, Commentary on First Cor- 
inthians, p. 387. The last view impresses us as the correct 
one, but we must not forget, in holding to the objective 
vision of the risen Christ, that the spiritual significance 
of the vision of Jesus as the true Messiah and the Son of 
God is the element of vital significance in the Apostle's 
conversion. In other words, although we emphasize the 
fact that Paul saw the real risen Christ, as He appeared to 
him in His post-resurrection form, yet the most vital ele- 
ment in the experience of Paul is his spiritual apprehension 
of Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of sinners. 

The Relation of His Conversion to His Theology 

There is a most vivid relation between Paul's experi- 
ence in being saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and the sys- 
tem of Christian thought afterwards worked out by him 
and presented in his letters to the churches. As a Phari- 
see, Paul had struggled to attain righteousness by the 
keeping of the law; but he had failed. This failure drove 
him, in despair, to seek help from the Nazarene. He came 
to see that he not only received forgiveness, but also right- 
eousness, by his personal acceptance of Jesus. Hence, he 
afterwards elaborates his doctrine of salvation by grace 
without the deeds of the law, which is the heart of his 
theology. His doctrine of man as a helpless, hopeless sin- 
ner is also fundamental in his theology. His experience 



132 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



had proved to him that no man could obtain righteousness 
by keeping the law. If he could not, with all his advantages 
of training, culture, and moral purpose, no one could. It 
is likely that he worked out in his own mind, first, this 
doctrine of man as a helpless sinner, and afterwards elab- 
orated his doctrine of salvation by grace through the sim- 
ple faith of the sinner in the crucified, risen Christ. He 
knew he had been saved in this way; that is, by simply 
surrendering to Christ as the giver of the righteousness 
which he was unable to attain. Paul's doctrine of the 
moral life of the saved man, namely, the life of service 
and sacrifice, is a natural development of such an experi- 
ence of the goodness and grace of God. The saved man, on 
the ground of the mercies of God, is exhorted by the Ap- 
ostle to live a clean moral life and maintain good works 
in helping others and hastening the coming of the Lord. 
Thus we might go on to show that all the basal doctrines 
of the Apostle root themselves in, and grow out of, his 
experience in the hour of conversion. 

Paul in Damascus, Arabia and Cilicia 

1. In Damascus. Immediately after his baptism, he 
entered the synagogue at Damascus and preached the his- 
torical Jesus as the real Messiah, but after many days 
(probably a week or two) the Jews began plotting to kill 
him. His friends, the disciples, preserved his life by let- 
ting him down in a basket over the city wall. Thus begins 
the labors and sufferings of him whom his Lord had called 
to witness and suffer for Him. 

2. In Arabia. He then retired into Arabia — into the 
desert not far from Damascus. According to his own 
statement in Galatians, he remained in Arabia three years, 
not necessarily thirty-six months, but parts of three years. 
What was the object of his visit to Arabia? (i) It is 
most probable that it was not evangelistic, although some 
have supposed that Paul was busy finding the few scat- 
tered inhabitants of the desert and telling them the story 
of the gospel. (2) It is almost sure that his stay in Arabia 
was for theological purposes. It was here, in the loneliness 



CONVERSION AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CAREER 133 



of the desert, in special fellowship with God and under the 
peculiar guidance of the Holy Spirit, he elaborated in his 
own mind the main outlines of his theology. We need 
not suppose that he foresaw all the details of his doctrinal 
system, many of which were elaborated under the circum- 
stances which called them forth. 

3. In Cilicia. On emerging from the Arabian desert, 
he passes through Damascus and makes his first visit 
to Jerusalem after his conversion (Gal. 1:18, 19). He tells 
us in this epistle that he went up "to see Cephas." But 
for what did he wish to interview Peter? What a revela- 
tion it would be to us if we only had the conversation of 
Peter and Paul during these fourteen days ! It is more 
than likely that he went to interview Peter as to the main 
points in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. His friends 
soon found that the Jews were plotting to kill him while 
in Jerusalem, and so Paul was delivered and sent to Tarsus 
(Acts 9:26-30). Here he remained until the coming of 
Barnabas to take him to Antioch. 

Paul's Early Ministry in Antioch 

1. The City of Antioch. It was situated on the Oron- 
tes on the great road running from the Euphrates valley 
to Coele-Syria. It was founded by Seleucus Nicator. Pol- 
itically, the city was the capital of the Roman province 
Syria (made so by Pompey), and hence was the center 
of power. Josephus says it was the third city in the 
Roman Empire, Rome and Alexandria being the frist and 
second. 

2. Its Population. It consisted of Greeks, Romans, 
and Jews, but the Gentiles seem to have outnumbered the 
Jews. Its civilization was Hellenistic and liberal. Art and 
literature were cultivated, so as to elicit the praise even of 
Cicero. Temples, baths, and theatres adorned its streets. 

3. Its Religion and Morals. The people of Antioch 
worshipped heathen gods, although Judaism had a foot- 
ing. The morals were low, like those of other great heathen 
cities. The rich were steeped in luxury and almost all the 
people lived in licentiousness. 



134 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



4. Beginning of the Gospel in Antioch. According 
to Acts 11:19-20, Hellenistic Christians of Cyprus and 
Cyrene first preached the gospel to the Greeks in Antioch. 
The Jews of Antioch seem to have been evangelized early. 
The persecution arising on account of Stephen led to this 
piece of broad evangelistic work. 

5. Paul's First Ministry in Antioch. The gospel was 
so mighty in Antioch, and so many accepted Christianity, 
that the report of it came to Jerusalem, and the church 
there sent Barnabas to investigate the matter. When he 
arrived he was delighted to see the grace of God manifested 
toward the Gentiles. Because he was full of faith and of 
spiritual power and so liberal minded, he exhorted them 
to cleave to the Lord. As a result of his ministry a large 
company of believers were added to the church. Yet, the 
work of evangelism grew to such proportions in Antioch 
that Barnabas was not able to cope with the demands of 
the campaign. So he went after Paul, found him in Cilicia, 
and brought him to Antioch to help him lead in the sweep- 
ing evangelistic campaign. For a whole year Barnabas 
and Paul together continued the evangelization of Antioch 
with marvelous success. Here the disciples were first called 
Christians, not as a compliment to them for being followers 
of Christ, but doubtless as a taunt by their enemies. 

The Relief Visit of Paul to Jerusalem 

This is his second visit to Jerusalem after his conver- 
sion. The prophet Agabus had predicted the coming of 
the famine which should cover the world. We know there 
was such a famine in the time of Claudius, though scarcely 
covering the whole Roman world, according to secular 
writers (Josephus, Antiq. XX 2:5; 5:2; Orosius, VII 6). 
In the year 45 A. D. the church in Antioch, as Luke tells 
us, to express a brotherly feeling for the disciples in Jeru- 
salem, sent Barnabas and Paul with relief. Ramsay re- 
gards Gal. 2:1-10 as a record of this Paul's second visit 
to Jerusalem, but most scholars think Gal. 2:1-10 is par- 
allel with Acts 15:1-35. The position of Neander, Meyer, 
and Lightfoot, that Barnabas and Paul started to Jeru- 



CONVERSION AND EARLY CHRISTIAN CAREER 135 



salem on this relief visit, but for some unknown cause did 
not reach Jerusalem, and that this fact accounts for Paul's 
silence in Galatians as to this visit, is not tenable. 

Antioch the New Center of Christianity 

Is it strange that the Jerusalem church, with its priv- 
ileges of apostolic leadership and pentecostal enduement, 
ceased to be the real center of progressive Christianity? 
Not at all, when we remember that two such liberal minded 
leaders as Barnabas and Paul are giving their time and 
powers to the evangelization of Antioch and the develop- 
ment of the church in that leading city. Barnabas, the 
first great leader in Antioch, was himself a Hellenistic Jew 
of rare accomplishment and culture. Paul, who became 
the second leader allied with the spiritually minded Barn- 
abas, was a man of the broadest cosmopolitan views not 
only of life itself but also for Christianity. With two such 
splendid leaders, both thinking world thoughts, and Anti- 
och itself a center of world forces, it could not but be that 
the church in Antioch should now actually become the 
rallying center from which Christianity started its course 
to the great Roman Empire ; yea, to Rome itself, and to all 
the world. 



CHAPTER XV 



THE FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY AND THE 
JERUSALEM CONFERENCE 

We now stand at the beginning of one of the greatest 
missionary campaigns the world has ever seen. These 
two men, who have been so successful in the evangelistic 
campaign in the city of Antioch, hear the call of God and 
go out to evangelize the provinces of the Roman Empire. 
At the proper historical points we shall notice the com- 
position and contents of those wonderful letters which 
came from Paul's inspired pen. 

The Date and Origin 

1. Date. The old view is that this first missionary 
journey of the Apostle fell in the years 47-49. This is still 
held by Ramsay and Burton. Some New Testament schol- 
ars make it as early as 45, but this is scarcely possible. 
Accoridng to the profane historians, a great famine oc- 
curred in 44 or 45. Paul would not have had time to take 
the relief to the Jerusalem saints, return to Antioch, and 
begin this journey all in the same year. It is likely that 
Paul and Barnabas went out on this first journey about 
the year 47. 

2. The Circumstances. Let us note the conditions 
out of which grew this missionary journey. According to 
the first three verses of the thirteenth chapter of Acts, 
five prophets and teachers in Antioch, Barnabas, Simeon 
Niger, Lucius the Cyrenean, Manaen the chamberlain of 
Herod the tetrarch, and Paul, were praying and fasting, 
and the Holy Spirit impressed them that Barnabas and 
Paul should go forth as missionaries. After prayer and 
the laying on of hands, the two missionaries were sent 
forth. Thus began that splendid series of missionary cam- 
paigns carried on by the Apostle to the Gentiles through 
whom many strong churches were planted in so many 
provinces of the Roman Empire. 



FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



137 



On the Island of Cyprus 

Barnabas and Paul took John Mark as their attendant 
and set sail from Seleucia, the port of Antioch. They 
dropped anchor at Salamis, on the eastern end of the island 
of Cyprus. Salamis was an important Greek town as far 
back as the Sixth Century B. C. By the First Century 
of the Christian era, it had become a flourishing trading 
center and the capital of the eastern portion of Cyprus. 
There was a large population of Jews and, according to 
Dio Cassius (68:32, 53:12), they had many synagogues. 
Luke tells us that the missionaries preached the word of 
God in the Jewish synagogues. He does not tell us the 
results in the city of Salamis. The missionaries then 
passed on throughout the island and came at last to 
Paphos, on the west end. The writer does not tell us that 
they preached as they journeyed through the island, but 
it is likely that they did preach whenever opportunity pre- 
sented itself. At Paphos lived the Roman governor of 
the province, Sergius Paulus, a man of remarkable intel- 
ligence. It is to be noted that Pliny confirms these state- 
ments of Luke about the governor of Paphos. The two 
missionaries received a special invitation from the gov- 
ernor and preached to him the gospel. Sergius Paulus 
was so charmed with the message that he accepted Chris- 
tianity. 

One of the most remarkable events in Paphos was the 
opposition to the gospel by a certain Bar-Jesus. He was a 
magician, a practicer of cunning arts, and when he saw 
the governor being influenced by the message of the mis- 
sionaries, he sought to lead the governor away from the 
simple Christian faith. Whereupon, Paul pronounced upon 
Bar-Jesus the curse of temporary blindness. This miracle 
increased the governor's faith and won the favor of the 
Roman authorities. 

In Pisidian Antioch 

1. Paul Now Becomes Leader. At the close of the 
campaign on the island of Cyprus, Paul had so distin- 
guished himself for masterful leadership that he easily 



138 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



gravitated into the leadership of the missionary group. It 
is not certain how Paul was placed at the head of the 
group, but it is certain that from now on it is always Paul 
and Barnabas, while before this time it was always Bar- 
nabas and Paul. 

2. Mark Goes Back. On reaching Pamphylia, John 
Mark forsook the mission and returned to Jerusalem. Luke 
does not intimate the causes, or cause, of this delinquency 
on the part of Mark. It may have been strong domestic 
ties, or the extreme difficulties ahead in the mountain 
travel, or it may have been the subordination which seems 
to have been Mark's in the missionary group. From what 
we shall see later on, his forsaking of the missionary jour- 
ney was blameworthy beyond a doubt. The young mis- 
sionary made a mistake, but one which he seems afterwards 
completely to have corrected. 

3. Paul Preaches His First Recorded Sermon. The 

missionary party did not stop in Perga, one of the two 
metropolitan towns in the province of Pamphylia. It was 
situated in the low coast region, and Sir William Ramsay 
suggests that Paul had malarial fever, and so must hasten 
to the hill country for the sake of his health. They pushed 
their way northward and traversed the wild, perilous moun- 
tain country, until they came to Antioch in Pisidia. The 
population of this city was composed of native Pisidians, 
Greeks, Romans, and Jews. Paul conducted his first preach- 
ing service in the synagogue. One is struck with the fact 
that Paul always begins an evangelistic campaign in the 
Jewish synagogue, if there is one accessible. Why should 
the missionary to the Gentiles pursue such a policy? The 
answer is easily found. The people easiest reached by 
the gospel, the Jews and the proselytes to Judaism, would 
naturally be found in the Jewish synagogue. So Paul was 
simply acting on a wise psychological principle. But con- 
trary to the Apostole's expectation, the Jews rejected his 
message of Jesus as the Christ, and then the missionaries 
turned to the Gentiles. Notice how adroitly Paul appeals 
to Jewish history and comes step by step to the climax of 
his address, that the historical Jesus is the real Messiah. 



FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



139 



This first recorded sermon of Paul's is found in Acts 13 : 
14-41. Though the address is somewhat like Stephen's ad- 
dress (Acts 7), yet there are distinct Pauline marks in it. 
Especially in the 39th verse do we find the doctrine of 
justification by faith, which is the central doctrine in Paul's 
writings. Strange to say, some extreme critics argue that 
this verse on justification is an interpolation by a later 
hand, to show the Pauline mark of the address. But the 
verse about justification fits easily and naturally into the 
address and seems to be an essential part of it. Luke has 
surely caught the Pauline spirit as to the eternal purposes 
of God in the salvation of men, for in verse 48 he describes 
the results of the sermon by saying that "as many as were 
ordained unto eternal life believed." But surely this state- 
ment does not deny the responsibility of men to choose 
Christ and accept His gospel. 

The great success of Paul's message in this city so 
incensed the Jews that they instigated a persecution against 
the missionaries, who must fly for safety to Iconium. It 
is remarkable that the writer of Acts never mentions the 
exact numbers of those who believed in these evangelistic 
campaigns of Paul. Only twice, in the early portion of 
his book, does he mention exact figures, 3,000 and 5,000, 
as the number of converts in Jerusalem. 

In Iconium, Lystra and Derbe 

The evangelization of these cities follows next in order 
of time, and is recorded in the first verses of the fourteenth 
chapter of Acts. 

1. In Iconium. This city was situated near the bor- 
der of Lycaonia and Phrygia, and in the former, according 
to the ancient writers, Cicero, Strabo, and Pliny, although 
some of the early writers regard it as a Phrygian town. 
According to Ramsay, it belonged to the Roman province 
of Galatia, in the First Century of our era. Because of 
Paul's preaching, a large number of Jews and Gentiles be- 
lieved. Unbelieving Jews incited a mob and compelled 
Paul and Barnabas to flee from the city (Acts 14:811). 



140 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



2. In Lystra. The missionaries fled to Lystra, a 
town which had been founded by Agustus, where was lo- 
cated an important Roman garrison. Paul preached the 
gospel and healed the lame man. The miracle led the 
heathen people to worship the two missionaries, Paul as 
Hermes, and Barnabas as Zeus. Paul was doubtless the 
leading speaker, and likely smaller in physique, and so 
was identified with the Greek god Hermes, who inspires 
to speech, rather than with Zeus, the head of the Greek 
gods. Paul persuaded the crowd not to worship them, 
since they were only mortal men. Afterwards the Jews 
from Antioch and Iconium joined the Jews in Lystra and 
severely stoned Paul. They even dragged him out of the 
city and left him for dead. One of the finest pieces of 
work done by Paul in Lystra was the conversion of young 
Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess, and whose father 
was a Greek. Luke does not tell us that Paul founded a 
church in Lystra. The South Galatian theory, as to the 
readers of the letter to the Galatians, holds that the Apostle 
did found a church in Lystra, which is quite probable. 

3. In Derbe. Ramsay has demonstrated from his re- 
searches that Derbe was a frontier town of a Roman prov- 
ince during this period (41-72 A. D.). Paul preached the 
gospel here and then retraced his steps to Lystra, Iconium, 
Antioch, and Perga. He stopped in the last city and 
preached on his return journey. It is worthy of considera- 
tion that all the towns evangelized on this journey are 
connected by Roman roads and so easily reached by the 
missionaries. From Attalia, a port city, the missionaries 
sailed to Seleucia, went up to Antioch in Syria, and re- 
ported their success to the church which had become the 
leading center of the world's evangelization. 

The Jerusalem Conference 

There are two accounts given in the New Testament 
concerning this conference, one by Luke in Acts 15, the 
other by Paul in Galatians 2:1-10. 

1. The Acts Account. According to the account 
given by Luke, the conference was occasioned by the com- 



FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



141 



ing from Judea of some brethren who taught in Antioch 
that circumcision was necessary to salvation. This teach- 
ing caused a sharp discussion. At length Paul and Bar- 
nabas go as messengers to Jerusalem to have a final set- 
tlement of this matter in the mother church. The Acts 
account does not tell us that the church elected or ap- 
pointed Paul and Barnabas as messengers to this confer- 
ence, but it is plainly implied. The Antioch messengers 
were cordially received by the Jerusalem church, by the 
apostles, and by the elders. 

According to the account in Acts (i5 7b-n), Peter 
delivers an address in which he recognizes how his own 
experience in dealing with Cornelius pointed to the divine 
approval of receiving Gentiles as Christians on the same 
footing with Jews. Paul and Barnabas make a report of 
their work among the Gentiles and emphasize the work 
of God's grace (15:12). James, who has probably become 
the bishop of the church in Jerusalem, also delivers an 
address in which he, too, recognizes that Gentiles are to 
be received on an equal footing with Jews. He bases this 
contention on the experience of Peter and the teachings of 
Amos. 

The parties to the debate, according to the account 
in Acts, are three: (1) Pharisaic Christians, who demanded 
circumcision as essential to Christianity; (2) Paul and 
Barnabas, who represented universal Christianity and its 
freedom from Judaism; (3) the pillar apostles (although 
John is not mentioned), who seemed to occupy a mediating 
position. 

2. The Galatian Account. Paul says that fourteen 
years afterward, he went up to Jerusalem (2:1). The 
question is, From what point is he reckoning the fourteen 
years, from his first visit to Jerusalem, or from his con- 
version? It is probable that he means fourteen years 
after his first visit to Jerusalem, which is rather confirmed 
by the Greek expression, "I went up again." This would 
make the date of the conference about 50 or 51, if Paul 
was converted about 35 or 36. According to the Pauline 
account of the conference, the Antioch delegation consisted 



142 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



of Paul and Barnabas, and possibly of Titus, although 
he is not expressly mentioned as a messenger. Paul says 
the conference originated "by revelation/' which means 
that he was led by the Holy Spirit to resort to the Jeru- 
salem conference. The subject of the debate was mainly 
the nature of the gospel that was to be preached to the 
Gentiles. Should that gospel be entirely free from Juda- 
ism, or should it be bound to Judaism? The specific point 
at issue was, Shall circumcision be preached as a necessary 
part of the gospel to the Gentiles? 

The parties in the debate, according to the Galatian 
account are: (i) the Antioch delegation, standing for the 
gospel free from Judaism and for all the world; (2) the 
false brethren, who belonged to the same group, though 
not the same men, that later tried to undermine Paul's 
apostleship in Galatians, and now demand circumcision 
for all Gentile converts; (3) the pillar apostles, James, 
Cephas, and John, who seem to have endorsed Paul before 
the close of the conference. 

The conference decided that Titus the Greek was not 
to be circumcised. This was to be the universal rule. No 
Gentile converts were to be circumcised on believing in 
Christ. The conference also decided that the missionary 
territory was to be divided into Palestine (the circum- 
cision) and the Gentile lands (the uncircumcision), the 
former territory to be occupied by the Jerusalem apostles, 
and the latter, by Paul and Barnabas. The Jerusalem apos- 
tles endorsed Paul's free gospel and his divine commission 
to preach this gospel to the Gentiles. There is not a line 
to the effect that they did endorse his apostleship, and yet 
it is implied. The pillar apostles did request Paul and Bar- 
nabas to remember the poor, a request which Paul implies 
was unnecessary. 

The Harmonization of the Two Accounts 

1. As to the Time Element. Luke does not mention 
the time of the conference, because of its unimportance 
in his purpose for writing. On the other hand, Paul, in 
Galatians, is making an argument in which time plays a 



FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY 



143 



significant part, and so he emphasizes the time element. 
There is really no conflict here. 

2. Occasion of the Controversy. It is explicitly 
stated in the Acts account that it is circumcision. It is 
not directly asserted in the Galatian account, but it is 
strongly intimated when Paul says that he did not for a 
moment consent to the circumcision of Titus. 

3. Paul's Manner of Going to Jerusalem. In Gala- 
tians Paul himself asserts that he went up to Jerusalem 
"by revelation." Luke implies that he went as a mes- 
senger of the church in Antioch. There is no discrepancy 
here. Paul was led by the Spirit to go, and the church 
simply appointed him to do what the Spirit had impressed 
him was the proper course in the matter. 

4. Subject of Debate. This is the same in both ac- 
counts, namely, the conditions on which the Gentiles may 
be received as Christians — without circumcision or with 
circumcision. 

5. The Parties in the Debate. Here there is only 
one apparent discrepancy. Paul speaks of "false brethren," 
where Luke speaks of Pharisaic Christians who demand 
circumcision. It is most likely that the "false brethren" 
belonged to the same group as the Pharisaic Christians, 
and so there is no real conflict here. 

6. The Decision. Luke does not mention the Titus 
episode, which plays a conspicuous part in Paul's account. 
The division of the territory is not mentioned by Luke, 
but is made prominent by Paul. It is noteworthy, how- 
ever, that Peter and James both in their addresses imply 
that a division of the territory is the best policy (see Acts 
15:10, 19). The endorsement of Paul's gospel by the pillar 
apostles, which Paul asserts in his account, although not 
directly asserted by Luke, is implied in the addresses of 
Peter and James. Luke does not mention the collection 
for the poor, because he did not regard this as a main 
issue, which is also the estimate which Paul puts upon this 
point (Gal. 2:10). 



144 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



7. Significance of This Conference. This conference 
was the great crisis of the apostolic age. Paul had received 
the impression from the Spirit that this conference was a 
crisis in the early history of Christianity. The work he 
had already done, and the work yet to be done, would 
come to naught unless there was a definite decision by 
the contending wings of Christianity as to this question 
of whether or not Gentiles should be received without 
circumcision. When the question was settled in this con- 
ference, the tide turned for universal Christianity, separate 
and distinct from Judaism. The break with Judaism was 
formally made. Christianity had proved at last, under the 
leadership of Paul and Barnabas, that it is indeed no new 
patch on the old garment of Judaism. Christianity is a 
new religion and is for all the world. 



CHAPTER XVI 



SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 

We do not know how long Paul and Barnabas rested 
in the city of Antioch before contemplating a return to 
the mission fields. Certainly the strenuous journey just 
described would necessitate a short period of rest on the 
part of the missionaries, but before a second journey was 
begun there occurred one of the most unpleasant events 
in the history of the early church life. 

The Dissension Between Paul and Barnabas 

Not even the greatest or the best of men can always 
see things the same way. At first, it seems strange to 
us that two such noble characters as Paul and Barnabas, 
who were specially led by the Spirit of God, should have 
such a sharp contention that their future careers must be 
forever separated. But we must remember that they were 
only men, notwithstanding their apostolic functions. 

1. Cause of the Dissension. There have ever been 
two prolific causes of division in the forces of Christianity, 
men and views of doctrine. This time the cause lies in a 
man. John Mark had apparently forsaken the missionary 
group on the first journey, just as the crisis of the journey 
was being reached. Barnabas, being a kinsman of Mark, 
was naturally charitable toward the delinquent young mis- 
sionary. But Paul was rigid in his conception of one's 
loyalty to duty and could not overlook at the present this 
apparent unfaithfulness of John Mark. Barnabas con- 
tended that they should take Mark on the second journey, 
but Paul positively refused to accept such a delinquent as 
a member of the missionary group. We learn later on in 
the Apostle's life that he did accept the penitence of John 
Mark and heartily commended him to the confidence of 
other Christians (Col. 4:10). 

2. Results of This Dissension. Each one of the lead- 
ers had his way. Barnabas persisted in taking Mark, and 
it is likely that the two went forth on another missionary 



146 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



journey. Our sources are reticent as to the future career 
of Barnabas. Some have suggested that he went back 
to his island home on Cyprus and, with Mark, rounded 
out the evangelization of his native island. At any rate, 
the movement headed by Barnabas did not form a main 
iine of progress in early Christianity, and so Luke does 
not record it. Paul selected young Silas, or Sylvanus, a 
broad-minded prophet of the Jerusalem church, and at once 
set out on the second missionary journey. It is this jour- 
ney by Paul and Silas to the continent of Europe which 
engages the attention of Luke in the progress of his nar- 
rative of early Christianity, because it shows the outward 
sweep of the gospel to the nations of the world. 

It is supposed by some New Testament scholars that 
the estrangement of Barnabas from Paul at Antioch, in 
the episode with Peter, contributed to the severance of 
their missionary relations. In Galatians Paul does em- 
phasize the fickleness of Barnabas, who was led by the 
dissimulation of Peter to desert Paul. But neither Luke 
nor Paul intimates that this Antioch episode had anything 
to do with the final separation of Barnabas and Paul. 

The Journey Begun 

On leaving Antioch Paul and Silas started overland 
towards Derbe and Lystra. The Apostle felt that he must 
revisit some of the churches founded on his first journey 
(16:1-5) and strengthen the faith of the young converts. 
At Lystra he was impressed with the character and ability 
of Timothy, one of the converts on the first journey. So 
he added this promising young man to the missionary 
group. Here occurs one of the strangest incidents in the 
missionary career of the Apostle Paul. Before taking Tim- 
othy into the missionary group, he had him circumcised. 
Why? Was he softening in his feelings towards the Jews 
and compromising with Judaism? Not at all. He merely 
felt that it would be unfitting for an uncircumcised man 
to minister in the synagogues where Jews worshipped. 
Besides, it was well known in those regions that Timothy's 
mother was a Jewess. This makes the two cases of Titus 
and Timothy entirely different. Titus was a pure Greek, 



SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 147 



and so Paul refused to allow him to be circumcised. On 
the other hand, Timothy was half Jew, and the Jews in 
those regions would naturally feel repugnant towards a 
young Jew's ministering in the synagogue if he had never 
been circumcised. Paul's policy in yielding to circumcision 
for Timothy is an illustration of his life principle, "I became 
all things to all men that I might by all means save some." 
He is not compromising a great principle of Christianity, 
but is merely adjusting himself to the circumstances around 
him and beautifully illustrating the words of his Lord, 
"Be wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves." 

The missionaries passed on from Lystra through the 
Phrygian and Galatian country, purposing to evangelize 
the Roman province of Asia, but the Spirit forbade them. 
The Spirit also refused to allow them to enter the province 
of Mysia or Bithynia at this time, and so the missionaries 
passed on to the coast town of Troas on the TEgean Sea 
opposite Macedonia. Paul is now on the historic spot 
where the ancient Trojans crossed swords with the early 
Greeks, where the Greeks achieved one of their first his- 
toric victories. On this same spot is to be decided the 
trend of the gospel for the coming ages. Shall the gospel 
turn eastward to the great empires of the Orient, or shall 
it enter Europe and start on its westward course toward 
the unborn nations of the Occident? In a vision at Troas, 
Paul saw a Macedonian standing before him on the Euro- 
pean shore and calling, "Come over and help us." Paul 
and his missionary group interpreted this voice from the 
European shores to be the call of God to carry the gospel 
into Macedonia. The vision of the great Apostle on that 
memorable night decided the westward course of the gos- 
pel, which has meant so much to the Western nations in 
these last centuries. 

Founding a Church in Philippi 

From Troas the missionary party sailed to Samothrace, 
and thence up to Philippi, the first European city evangel- 
ized. Philippi was a metropolitan city of the Roman prov- 
ince Macedonia. It had been founded (or refounded) by 



148 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Philip of Macedon, about the Fourth Century B. C, and 
became a Roman city in 168 B. C. After the defeat of Cas- 
sius and Brutus at Philippi, in the year 42 B. C, the city 
of Philippi became a Roman colony with municipal inde- 
pendence (so Strabo, VII, 41). Hence, Philippi was in- 
tensely Roman in population. There were so few Jews 
in the city that it had no synagogue. This is apparently 
the necessary conclusion from the fact that the women 
were worshipping on the bank of a river when Paul visited 
the city. Over a hundred Latin inscriptions testify to the 
Roman character of the city. The first convert on Euro- 
pean soil was Lydia, the purple-seller from Thyatira. Her 
whole household accepted the word and were baptized. 
She was so enthusiastic for the success of the gospel that 
she threw open the doors of her home to the missionaries, 
and it is probable that her home became the rallying center 
for the Philippian church in those first months of its his- 
tory. 

The main events in Philippi were those connected with 
the maid of divination, who brought much gain to her 
owners, or employers, by soothsaying. She kept crying 
after Paul and his party, "These men are servants of the 
Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of sal- 
vation," until Paul was indignant and turned and said to 
the evil spirit possessing her, "I command thee in the 
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." There is scarcely 
any ground for concluding with McGiffert and a few other 
scholars that this girl was a ventriloquist. Soothsaying 
was a common occupation in those days, and it is probable 
that this girl was merely a skillful soothsayer, and a com- 
pany of rich men were making money on her apparent nat- 
ural gifts. When these men saw that the hope of their 
gain was gone they had Paul and Silas arrested on the 
charge of teaching customs unlawful for Romans to ac- 
cept. The magistrates were zealous for the honor of Phil- 
ippi, and so without trial they had Paul and Silas beaten 
and placed in the city prison. That night while Paul and 
Silas were singing praises to God, the jailer was converted. 
The next morning Paul made it known to the prison au- 



SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 149 



thorities that he was a Roman citizen. As soon as the 
city authorities ascertained this fact they sought to have 
Paul released secretly, but he refused to be sent out secretly, 
because he had been beaten and imprisoned publicly. This 
imprisonment doubtless exerted a mighty influence upon 
the citizens of Philippi and turned the minds of many to 
the religion of the suffering Apostle. In Philippi Paul 
founded a strong church, which was ever loyal to him 
(Phil. 4:1, 16, 18; II Cor. 11:9). Paul encountered no op- 
position at the hands of the Jews in Philippi. His troubles 
came from Gentile leaders. It was not Judaism but anti- 
nomianism that constituted the principal evil in the church 
in Philippi (Phil. 3:19). 

In Thessalonica and Berea 

Paul and his missionary party passed on from Philippi 
to Thessalonica. This city was named by Philip of Mace- 
don in honor of his daughter, in commemoration of a vic- 
tory won on the day of her birth. It was a great commer- 
cial center, the Jewish population was large, and there 
was a synagogue in the city. But Paul's work was prin- 
cipally among the Gentiles (see Acts 17:4; I Thess. 1:9-2: 
14). The theme of Paul's preaching in Thessalonica was 
Jesus, the Deliverer from the wrath of God. According 
to the closing verses of the first chapter of his first let- 
ter, he emphasized, in his preaching to the Thessalonians, 
the doctrines of Christ's resurrection and second coming. 
He seems not to have made prominent the doctrine of the 
cross, which was the central theme of his message later 
on in the Grecian city of Corinth. The missionaries en- 
countered persecution in Thessalonica and so fled south- 
ward to Berea, which is on the main road from Thessa- 
lonica to Greece. Paul stopped in Berea and preached 
in the Jewish synagogue. The Bereans were more en- 
thusiastic than the rest of the Macedonian Christians in 
their reception of the gospel. They searched the Scriptures 
daily to verify the teachings of the missionaries. We have 
not a line in Luke or Paul telling us about the founding of 
a church in Berea. There is some probability that a church 



150 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



was founded there, since the missionaries found such will- 
ing and enthusiastic recipients of the gospel in this city. 

Paul Among the Philosophers of Greece 

Paul, without Timothy and Silas, hastens southward 
to the great center of the world's culture and philosophy in 
those times. The first point in Greece touched by Paul 
was Athens, the intellectual center, the university city, 
and the headquarters for Greek philosophy. It was the 
"intellectual Mecca of the world" (McGiffert). The city 
was not only a center of philosophy, but also of religion. 
The citizens of Athens were very religious in their way. 
Pausanias, an early Greek writer, said : "There are more 
gods in Athens than all the rest of the country." Another 
of the early writers humorously said that it was easier 
to find a god than a man in Athens. The citizens of Athens 
were so religious that they had an altar to "an unknown 
god," that they might not fail to propitiate any god, whether 
known or unknown to them. The Athenians had the su- 
perstitious idea that if any deity was not properly pro- 
pitiated by them their city would be visited by pestilences 
or calamities. This belief explains the altar with the mem- 
orable inscription referred to above, which Paul read as 
he walked down the streets of Athens. It was the sight of 
these almost numberless altars to the various Greek deities 
that stirred the depths of Paul's soul while he waited in 
Athens. 

It is remarkable that Paul does not seem to be planning 
a great evangelistic campaign for the city of Athens. He 
seems to be merely waiting for the coming of Timothy 
and Silas from Macedonia. Why should he not evangel- 
ize this center of Grek culture? Did he fear to match 
Christianity with Greek philosophy? Or did he feel that 
it would be useless to spend his time in Athens, since the 
Athenians were satisfied with the Greek philosophy? It 
is more than probable that the Apostle had his eye on 
Corinth, the capital of the province of Greece. It was his 
missionary policy to evangelize and locate churches in the 
chief centers of influence and of power. Corinth was bet- 



SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY 151 



ter suited for the radiation of gospel light to the rest of 
the province. He felt that his work would count for more 
in Corinth than in Athens. 

The theme of Paul's address on Mars Hill was the 
one living, true God who would judge the world by the 
man Jesus, whom He had raised from the dead. Why did 
Paul, in preaching to the Greek philosophers, omit his 
usual doctrines of the cross and the second coming of 
Christ? It seems to have been his purpose to appeal to 
the Athenians on the basis of their natural knowledge of 
deity. This was a mark of wisdom. He was merely em- 
ploying a psychological and pedagogical principle. More- 
over, it is probable that Paul did not finish his address, 
and so we cannot argue from silence that he did not intend 
to include, and even emphasize, the doctrines of the cross 
and second coming, towards the close of his matchless ad- 
dress. 

It is noticeable in this connection that Paul did not 
put a high estimate upon Greek art and culture and phil- 
osophy. The Greeks had achieved wonders in painting 
and sculpture and oratory, and especially in the remark- 
able teachings of the various schools of their philosophers. 
But none of these things made an abiding impression upon 
the mind of Paul as he walked the streets of Athens. His 
soul was absorbed in higher themes, the religion and the 
morals of the people. Hence, their successes in art and 
achievements in philosophy were regarded by him as of 
little importance, since they left the people to idolatry in 
religion and licentiousness in living. 

As to the result of Paul's few days' work in Athens, 
Luke has very little to say. It is to be noted that the 
gospel preached here did reach two noted characters in 
the highest circles of Athenian life, Dionysius the ^reop- 
agite, and Damaris, who was doubtless an influential 
woman of thought and culture. Others besides these em- 
braced Christianity on hearing Paul's address on Mars 
Hill. 



152 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Founding a Church in Corinth 

From Athens Paul went straight to Corinth. The his- 
tory of Corinth is interesting. It was destroyed by the 
Romans in 146 B. C, but in the year 46, just one century 
later, it was rebuilt and repopulated by Julius Caesar. It 
grew rapidly and had a population of perhaps 100,000 in 
Paul's day. It was a city of immense wealth, of consid- 
erable culture, but not the equal of Athens as an intellectual 
center, and was also a great commercial center between 
the East and the West. Many Jews were numbered in its 
population, but these rejected the gospel of Paul, and so he 
turned to the Gentiles. He made the house of one Titus 
Justus headquarters for the preaching of the gospel to the 
Gentiles. His theme in Corinth was the Christ who was 
crucified and who rose from the dead (I Cor. 2:2; 15:31^. 

Paul remained in Corinth eighteen months, and not 
only preached and taught after founding one of the strong- 
est churches, but also wrote the two first letters that came 
from his pen, the letters to the church in Thessalonica. 
The composition and content of these letters will be con- 
sidered in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER XVII 



THE LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

While Paul was laboring in Corinth, preaching and 
teaching the gospel to the Greeks of that city, he wrote 
the first of his letters to the churches; that is, the first 
letters that have been preserved as a part of our New Tes- 
tament canon. These are the letters to the church in Thes- 
salonica, which had recently been founded by him. Thes- 
salonica was the second European city evangelized. It is 
to be noted that he writes his first letter, not to his favorite 
church at Philippi, but to Thessalonica. This was because 
of the great pressure brought to bear upon the new con- 
verts in Thessalonica. 

The First Letter 

1. Occasion. As intimated above, Paul had stopped 
in Athens. He was deeply disappointed in not being able 
himself to return to Thessalonica when he heard how the 
unconverted Gentiles of that city were persecuting their 
Christian neighbors. So he sent Timothy back to Thes- 
salonica to ascertain their exact condition and to encourage 
them amid their persecutions (2:14, 17, 18; 3:1). While 
Timothy was on his way to Thessalonica, Paul went on 
to Corinth, where, in a short time, Timothy rejoined him 
and reported the steadfastness of the Thessalonian Chris- 
tians and their beautiful fidelity to Paul and his gospel 

(3:6-8). 

2. The Date. The rapid succession of the events as 
hinted in the paragraph above suggests that it was in the 
early months of Paul's stay in Corinth that he wrote this 
first letter. The exact time is not definitely known, but 
if he began the second missionary journey in the year 51, 
as we suppose in our chronology of the apostolic age, then 
the most probable date of composition is the latter part 
of the year 51, or the early months of 52. 

3. The Purpose. What was the design of the Apos- 
the in penning this message to the struggling church in 



154 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Thessalonica? (i) To pour out his heart's affection for 
them, and to express his abiding interest in their spiritual 
welfare. They were his spiritual children, and his affec- 
tion went out to these new converts of his gospel. While 
they are in the midst of such a tremendous struggle, he 
feels that he must let them know how much he loves them 
and how he has longed to see them face to face but has 
been prevented by adverse circumstances. (2) To en- 
courage them in the endurance of these persecutions (3:4- 
4:8). He reminds them in this letter how he had told 
them in person that they might expect to suffer affliction for 
the sake of the gospel. He is now exhorting them to be 
brave and courageous in faith and hope. (3) He also 
writes with a didactic purpose. He learns from Timothy 
that they are distressed about some false conception con- 
cerning the second coming of Christ, and so he writes to 
instruct them about this important doctrine. Those who 
have lost loved ones are not to despair of these loved ones, 
since they are to precede the living when, at the second 
coming, they enter into the fruition of the kingdom's glory 
(4=i3ff). 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1). 

II. The Personal Portion (1:2-3:13). 

1. His first preaching in Thessalonica (1:2-10). 

2. His labors in sincerity and suffering- among them (2:1-12). 

3. Their enthusiastic reception of his message as the word of 
God (2:13-16). 

4. His desire to see their faces (2:17-20). 

5. His joy at the glad tidings brought by Timothy concerning 
their faith and love and remembrance of the Apostle (3:1-10). 

6. Benediction (4:11-13). 

III. The Didactic Portion (4:1-5:24). 

1. Exhortation to moral living and sanctification (4:1-12). 

2. Comforting them concerning their deceased loved ones, who 
will share the blessings of Christ's second coming (4:13-5:11). 

3. Various exhortations: to respect their leaders, be at peace 
be forgiving, helpful, rejoicing, be prayerful, thankful, etc. 
(5 :12-22). 

4. Second benediction (5:23, 24). 

IV. Conclusion, in which he asks for their prayers, salutes the 
brethren, and asks that the letter he read unto all (5:25-28). 



THE LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 155 



The Line of Thought in Modern English 

Under this head we purpose to give a running state- 
ment of the chief thoughts of the Apostle in this letter. 
We shall try to disregard all technical, theological lan- 
guage and express the Apostle's feelings and ideas in the 
plainest, simplest English of today. 

Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy wish the church of the 
Thessalonians spiritual blessing and prosperity from God. 
We thank God in our prayers for your faith and love and 
hope which are based on God's selection of you to be His. 
We thank Him for your hearty, joyful acceptance of the 
gospel, although it caused you much suffering; for your 
turning to the true God from your idols, and for your ex- 
pectation of the second coming of Christ, in all of which 
things you have become examples to all the Macedonians 
(chapter i). 

Our labor among you was in much affliction, but in 
sincerity and without greed for gain or glory. We were 
as affectionate as a gentle nurse, yea, as a father, in help- 
ing you in your first Christian experiences, toiling with 
our own hands night and day, that you might walk worth- 
ily of God's call to you to share His future glory. 

We thank God also that you bravely endure persecu- 
tions from your pagan neighbors, as did the churches in 
Judea from the Jews. 

Since our separation from you we have often longed 
to see your faces, for you are our hope and crown of re- 
joicing, but we have hitherto been prevented by evil cir- 
cumstances (chapter 2). 

Since we could no longer endure not hearing from you, 
we sent Timothy to strengthen and comfort you in your 
affliction, which I told you on my visit must accompany 
the Christian life. How glad we were to hear from Timothy 
that you remember us and stand firm in faith and love. 
May the Father and the Lord Jesus cause your love to 
one another and to all men to increase more and more, so 
that you may be without blame at the coming of Christ 
(chapter 3). 



156 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



We beseech you, brethren, to live pure and holy lives, 
for God intended this in His call of loving favor. 

Also, love one another more tenderly, for your own 
conscience teaches you this is right. And be careful to 
attend to your own business, so as not to have want for 
yourselves, and that your Christian lives may exert a good 
influence on those outside. 

Weep not for your loved ones who have fallen asleep 
in death, for they shall not be robbed of the glory of the 
coming Savior. When He descends from heaven they shall 
be the first to see His face, and then, after their resurrec- 
tion, those who remain alive on earth shall join them in 
His glory (chapter 4). 

We know not the time of His coming, which will be 
as unexpected as the coming of a thief. Therefore, let us 
watch in faith and love and hope, and ever be ready. Esteem 
your religious leaders and practice a noble morality, loving 
and forgiving one another, being at peace among your- 
selves, praying always, rejoicing ever, being thankful for 
all things life brings to you, and testing all things that 
come to you. May God make you pure in your whole be- 
ing until the coming of Christ (chap. 5). 

The Second Letter 

While Paul is still in Corinth contesting the forces 
of paganism and Greek philosophy and trying to build a 
great church in this cultural center, more troubles from 
Thessalonica thrust themselves upon him. So he must write 
them another letter. 

I. Its Occasion. The circumstances out of which 
grew this letter are connected with a misapprehension of 
Paul's teachings on the second coming of Christ. It seems 
that some of the Thessalonian Christians had received the 
impression, either from the preaching or the first letter of 
Paul, or possibly from some other sources, that the period 
of messianic blessing had already begun. Consequently 
they had ceased to work, and the forces of disintegration 
now in operation are likely to result in complete social dis- 
order and immoralities. 



THE LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 157 



2. The Purpose. Paul writes this second letter to 
correct their misapprehensions concerning the second com- 
ing, to impress them that Christ was not coming at once. 
He purposed to exhort them to attend to the ordinary du- 
ties of life, be busy, quiet, and patient under persecution, 
and thus to wait for the coming of the Lord. He writes 
not only to set them right on the doctrine of the second 
coming but to insist upon their preserving a proper moral 
and social order in the common relations of life. 

3. The Date. How long it was after the writing of 
the first letter before the writing of tht second letter, is 
not definittly known. Probably not over three months had 
elapsed before these misunderstandings in the church at 
Thessalonica had begun to set in motion the forces of dis- 
integration and demoralization. So it is likely that this 
letter was written some three or four months after the 
first letter; that is, some time within the first six months 
of the year 52. 

4. The Pauline Authorship. It has been denied, or 
at least questioned, by some New Testament scholars, Spit- 
ta, Schmidt, McGiffert, and a few others, that Paul wrote 
this letter. The main ground on which the Pauline au- 
thorship is doubted is that of the style of the Greek in 
this letter. These critics say they can perceive in the Greek 
of the second letter an imitation of the style of the first 
letter. It is also urged that the eschatology is un-Pauline, 
since it involves many detailed anticipations of the second 
coming found nowhere else in the acknowledged epistles of 
Paul. It is also objected that the personal relation of Paul 
to the church is different. In the first letter he is tender 
and loving, in the second, harsh and commanding. It is 
also claimed that the emotional tone is different ; that of 
joy running through the first, while disappointment pre- 
dominates in the second. 

In reply to the matter of style, it may be said that there 
is a striking similarity in the grammatical constructions 
and other features marking the language of the two let- 
ters. But this is only a proof of the Pauline authorship, 
since there is no direct suggegstion of interpolations or of 



158 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



copying by another hand. The external evidence is also 
in favor of the Pauline authorship. As to the argument 
from the eschatology, it is easy to see how Paul would ex- 
press many details concerning the doctrine of the second 
coming in this letter, not found elsewhere in his writings, 
since it is distinctively his primary purpose in writing the 
letter to set the church in Thessalonica right on the doc- 
trine of the second coming. Surely in a letter written for 
that specific purpose, we should expect to find a detailed 
and rather elaborate exposition of the doctrine. As to 
Paul's feelings toward the church in Thessalonica, it is 
more than reasonable that he should be full of joy at the 
news of their love and fidelity, upon which he wrote the 
first letter. It is equally reasonable that he should express 
disappointment in the second, when he had heard that they 
were misunderstanding his important teachings. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1, 2). 

II. Thanksgiving for their progress, and the Apostle's comfort to 

them in their persecution (1:3-12). 

III. Their misapprehension concerning the Second Coming corrected 

(Chapter 2). 

1. The coming- of Christ is not to be at once (2:1, 2). 

2. Some events must precede that coming, the coming of the 
man of sin, his restraint, etc. (2:3-12). 

3. The Apostle thanks God that it is the divine purpose that 
they should be saved and sanctified unto the obtaining of the 
glory of the coming Lord (2:13, 14). 

4. Benediction (2:16, 17). 

IV. Conclusion, in which he makes a request for prayer, prays for 
them, exhorts busybodies, and gives his autographical saluta- 
tion and benediction (Chapter 3). 

The Line of Thought in Modern Engilsh 

Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy wish the church spir- 
itual blessing and prosperity from God. We thank God for 
your faith and love and endurance of persecution at the 
hands of your pagan neighbors. This patient endurance 
of such persecution but evinces that you shall receive rest 
with us at the coming of Christ, but that your enemies 
and all the wicked shall suffer punishment by being sep- 
arated from His glorious presence (chap. i). 

But, brethren, we beseech you not to get the impres- 
sion that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming at once, as though 



THE LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 159 



I taught it in person, or wrote it in my first letter to you. 
Let no man deceive you, for the man of sin, who exalts 
himself against God and arrogates to himself divine pre- 
rogatives, must first run his course in history, then be re- 
strained by some divinely appointed power, but at last, 
after attaining his full power in leading men to believe a lie 
instead of the truth, he shall be slain with the breath of the 
coming Savior. 

We thank God, brethren, that He chose you from all 
eternity to obtain deliverance from sin here, which is to 
be manifested in lives of purity, and a final deliverance at 
the coming of Jesus the Savior. May the Lord and Fa- 
ther comfort and strengthen you in every good word and 
work (chap. 2). 

We enjoin upon you to have no fellowship with the 
disorderly; that is, with those that fail to work and idly 
look for the coming of Christ. Remember our example 
among you, and let the busybodies go to work or stop 
eating. Have no intimate fellowship with such. Treat 
them not as enemies, but warn them as brothers. The Lord 
give you prosperity, and His own smiling favor upon all 
of you (chapter 3). 



CHAPTER XVIII 



GALATIANS 

We come now to the first letter of the second great 
group of Paul's letters. The first group, which we have 
already considered, consisted of the two letters to the 
church in Thessalonica. The second group consists of 
the letter to the Galatians, first and second epistles to the 
church in Corinth, and his masterpiece to the Christians 
in Rome. These four letters are sometimes called the great 
doctrinal epistles, because the fundamental teachings of 
the Apostle Paul are elaborated in these letters. The first 
group of letters is not marked by the presence of great 
doctrines. As we have seen, they were merely practical 
discussions of living problems in the church at Thessa- 
lonica. The only extended doctrinal discussion found in 
these early letters is the consideration of the second com- 
ing of our Lord in the second chapter of the second let- 
ter. 

1. The Occasion. According to a statement by Luke 
in the eighteenth chapter of Acts, Paul had left Corinth 
and sailed for Syria with a vow on him. On the way he 
stopped at Ephesus, landed at Csesarea, went up and greet- 
ed the church at Jerusalem, and then went down to Antioch. 
As to how long Paul was in Antioch at this time we have 
no means to ascertain exactly. The writer of the book 
of Acts tells us that he spent "some time" in the home 
city before he started out on his next missionary campaign. 
It is possible, and in fact probable, that while Paul was 
resting in Antioch he received news from Galatia that 
the Judaizing teachers had followed him into Galatia and 
were seeking to undermine his apostolic authority and his 
gospel (1:6; 4:11). These false teachings of the Judaizers 
drew forth from the Apostle this sharp, vehement expres- 
sion of his divine call to the apostleship and of the es- 
sential nature of his gospel centering in the doctrine of 
justification by faith only, without the deeds of the law. 

2. The Purpose. The Apostle's purpose in writing 
this letter was: (1) To counteract the baneful influence of 



GALATIANS 



161 



the teachings of these Judaizers. They were teaching that 
circumcision was necessary to salvation; that the gospel 
to be genuine must include the teachings of the law. These 
teachings were exactly the opposite of what Paul had 
taught the churches of Galatia, and such teachings were 
liable to undermine the churches themselves and defeat 
the very purposes of the gospel itself. (2) To defend 
his own apostolic authority. These Judaizers had told 
the people of Galatia that Paul was not a true apostle 
because he had never seen the Lord in the flesh. Paul 
writes to show that although he had not had the pleasure 
of seeing Jesus in His earthly career, yet it had been the 
pleasure of God to reveal His Son in him, and to call 
him to His apostleship. (3) To set forth the fundamental 
teachings of the gospel as he held it. The basal doctrine 
of the gospel is justification by faith only, without the 
deeds of the law. It is to be noted that this letter has the 
same theme as the great letter to the Romans, although in 
the latter the Apostle elaborates the doctrine of justifica- 
tion more fully. 

3. The Date. We have implied above that the letter 
was written about 54 or early in 55, just before Paul began 
his third missionary journey. It is just to say that there 
is not at all a unanimity of view as to exactly when the 
Apostle wrote this letter. A few scholars regard it as 
the earliest production of the Apostle's pen. Even the 
great German conservative, Zahn, thinks that Galatians 
is the first letter written by Paul. Koppe also puts it 
first. Prof. Bacon of the Divinity School of Harvard Uni- 
versity likewise places it among the early letters of Paul. 
Prof. McGiffert of Union Theological Seminary also puts 
it very early, between the first and second missionary 
journeys, about the year 51. On the other hand, Kohler 
and Schrader regard it as the last of Paul's letters. Thus 
we have the two greatest extremes as to the dating of 
this first great doctrinal letter of the Apostle. Perhaps 
the most common view is an intermediate date, somewhere 
from 55 to 57. Among the modern New Testament schol- 
ars we may mention Weiss, Holtzmann, and Lipsius, who 



162 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



place the letter very early in the Ephesian residence; 
that is, at the beginning of the third missionary journey, 
which would be about 55 or 56. Perhaps most of the 
scholars would say that the letter was written from Eph- 
esus during Paul's campaign in this city. But there are 
many objections to this view. Many things point to the 
composition of this letter at Antioch before the third 
missionary journey began. According to 4:13 Paul had 
already visited the Galatians the second time before writ- 
ing this letter. If the churches in Pisidian Antioch, Lys- 
tra, Derbe, etc., are the Galatian churches addressed 
(which is probable), the second visit of Paul to Galatia 
was the visit which he made to them on his second mis- 
sionary journey mentioned in Acts 16:6. But according 
to Acts 18:23 Paul visited Galatia a third time at the be- 
ginning of the third missionary journey, and so the date 
could not be after the beginning of the third missionary 
journey. From all these considerations the probable date 
is about 54 or 55, just before Paul went out on his third 
missionary journey. 

4. The Galatians Addressed. But who are the 

readers addressed by the Apostle in this letter? There 
are two great theories as to the answer to this question. 
The old theory is that Galatia is the extreme Northern 
province where lived the strong and sturdy Gauls who 
had migrated from the West in the Third Century B. C. 
This was the old theory that has been held through all the 
centuries and is so eloquently championed by Bishop Light- 
foot in the introduction to his commentary on Galatians 
(to which the reader is referred). The new theory is what 
is called the South Galatian theory. Those who hold this 
theory think that Galatia is the Roman province of Galatia 
and includes Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, 
the churches evangelized by Paul on his first missionary 
journey. This theory was first made prominent among 
English scholars by Sir William Ramsay. His arguments 
for this view are as follows : 

(1). We have no account in the New Testament of 



GALATIANS 



163 



Paul's evangelizing North Galatia, unless Luke refers to it 
in Acts 16:6, which is extremely doubtful. 

(2) We hear nothing of churches in North Galatia, 
in the early Christian literature, until near the close of the 
Second Century. There cannot be found a single reference 
in the writers of the latter part of the First Century and 
the first three quarters of the Second Century that would 
prove the existence of churches in North Galatia. This 
is an argument from silence and is not conclusive. But 
coupled with other weighty arguments it must be con- 
ceded its due weight. 

(3) It was Paul's policy to evangelize the provinces 
of the Roman Empire, and he seems to be familiar with 
Roman geographical terms. Therefore, it is likely that he 
uses Galatia in the Roman sense. Now we know from 
secular history that Galatia was a province of the Roman 
Empire from 25 B. C. and embraced just that territory 
in which are located Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, 
and Derbe. 

(4) The churches of Galatia are not represented in the 
great collection referred to by Paul in First Corinthians, 
sixteenth chapter, and in Second Corinthians, eighth and 
ninth chapters, unless Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, 
and Derbe are a part of Galatia. Thus we have a rather 
strong probability that the South Galatian theory is true, 
and that the Galatians are the members of the churches 
in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, who had 
received the gospel from him in person on his first mis- 
sionary journey. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-10). 

1. Salutation (1:1-5). 

2. Paul's rebuke of the churches and his astonishment at their 
defection (1:6-10). 

II. The Personal Portion (1:11-2.21). 

1. The proposition to be proved; Paul's gospel came by revela- 
tion from Jesus Christ and not from men (1:11-17). 

2. Proof: (a) He could not have received it from the Twelve, 
for it was three years before he went to Jerusalem (1:18-24). 
(b) His relation to the Twelve fourteen years later in Jeru- 
salem against such a supposition (2:1-10). (c) His collision 
with Peter at Antioch another evidence (2:11-21). 



164 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



III. Doctrinal Portion — The relation of his doctrine of justification 

by faith to Judaism (3:1-4:31). 

1. The experience of the Galatians at conversion (3:1-5). 

2. Only believers are true sons of Abraham (3:6-9). 

3. God's original plan to bless by faith not according to the 
law (3:10-12). 

4. The law satisfied in Christ (3:13-14). 

5. The priority of the promise to the law (3:15-18). 

6. The promise to Abraham and the law compared (3:19-22). 

7. The inferiority of the condition under the law (2:22-4:11). 

8. Affectionate reception of him by the Galatians (4:12-20). 

9. The allegory of Ishmael and Isaac (4:21-31). 

IV. Practical Exhortations (5:1-6:10). 

1. Liberty in Christ means, not license, but bearing the fruit 
of the Spirit (Chapter 5). 

2. Bearing one another's burdens and supporting religious 
teachers (6:1-10). 

V. Conclusion (6:11-18). 

The Line of Thought in Modern English 

I, Paul an apostle, not by human but by divine au- 
thority, and all with me, wish you spiritual blessing and 
prosperity from the Father and our Lord Jesus who, ac- 
cording to the Father's plan, sacrificed Himself to rescue 
us from the evil of this world, to whom be glory for ever 
and ever. 

I am surprised that you, O my recent converts in Gal- 
atia, are so quickly giving up the gospel of freedom and 
are about to go over to the Judaistic message of spiritual 
thraldom, which is not a gospel at all. Though an angel 
from heaven should preach it, there is no genuine gospel 
except the gospel you received from me (1:1-10). 

I wish to show to you first of all that my apostleship 
is of divine appointment and my gospel is of divine origin. 
I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I 
received it by spiritual illumination from Christ. I urge 
the following proofs for these propositions: 

i. My career as a Pharisee, a Pharisee who excelled 
my contemporaries in my fidelity to the traditions of the 
fathers, and who in this fidelity persecuted the church, 
shows that God must have taken the initiative in my reclam- 
ation from such a career and my appointment to the posi- 
tion of an apostle. The church and the apostles hated 
me, but God purposed from my birth to reveal His Son in 
me and that I should preach Him to the nations. 



GALATIANS 



165 



2. My retirement into Arabia for the first three years 
of my Christian life also proves that I did not get my gos- 
pel or my apostleship from men. I was alone with God in 
those early years, and from Him alone could I have re- 
ceived my gospel and my apostleship. 

3. My slight acquaintance with the early apostles in 
Jerusalem, when I went to interview Peter for fifteen days 
about the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, is another 
proof. My acquaintance with these apostles was too lim- 
ited and the time of my stay with them too short for me 
to have received my gospel and my apostleship from any 
other source than Jesus Christ Himself (1:11-24). 

4. My relations with the apostles at the Jerusalem 
conference also show that, instead of my receiving any- 
thing from them, they received from me. They agreed 
to my contention that neither Titus nor any other man 
should be circumcised in order to become a follower of 
Jesus Christ. 

5. My rebuke at Antioch of Peter, who played the 
hypocrite by refusing to eat and associate with Gentile 
converts because Jewish Christians had come from Jeru- 
salem, and who even drew away Barnabas, a special friend 
of mine, and one of the great leaders in the world-wide 
missionary campaign, proves that the head apostle in Jeru- 
salem did not contribute anything to my gospel, the gos- 
pel of freedom, which maintains that men do not attain 
right standing with God by their own good deeds but 
by childlike trust in Jesus Christ (chap. 2). 

Indeed, my gospel centers around the method of man's 
attaining right standing with God. This method is not 
by keeping the law but by personal trust in Christ. I 
urge the truthfulness of this doctrine for the following rea- 
sons : 

1. Your experience in beginning the Christian life 
proves that you were forgiven and entered into favor with 
God when you trusted Christ as your medium of right 
standing with God. 



166 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



2. Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, obtained 
right standing with God in the same way, and every man, 
Jew or Gentile, who trusts in the promises of God in Christ, 
enters into the blessed relation of sonship with the Father. 

3. In fact, God's original plan with men was, that 
they should obtain this right standing with Him, not by 
the law, but by faith, for He says under the old covenant, 
"The righteous shall live by faith." 

4. Yea, Jesus Christ, by hanging on the tree for us, 
bore the curse which we could not bear and at the same 
time have right standing with God. By trusting in Him 
as our curse-bearer we obtained the blessings of sonship 
along with Abraham. 

5. The law was not given to bestow upon men right 
standing with God, but as their tutor to bring them to 
Christ for His teaching and the forgiveness of sins. Hence 
all, Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, males or females, stand 
on the same footing before God, and all alike may become 
sons of God by trusting in Christ. Such put on the new 
Christ life in baptism, the first public act of the Christian 
life (chap. 3). 

6. The state of the man under the law is that of a 
minor under age, that of the believer in Christ, that of the 
son who possesses and enjoys all the Father's treasures. 
The state under the law is intended to lead up to the state 
of the believer in the Son, whom the Father sent at the 
time historical conditions were most fitting as the Son of 
Man, that men, through Him, might become the sons of 
God. On becoming sons you received the Spirit of His 
Son, whereby you could look up to God and cry, Our Fa- 
ther. Surely, then, as sons of God you will not allow 
yourselves to be enslaved under the bondage of the law. 
Yet, I am fearful that some of you will do so. 

7. Brethren, I beg you to remember how you re- 
ceived me as an angel from heaven, when first I told you 
the story of Christ. You had such faith in our message 
and such affection for us that you would have plucked out 
your very eyes and given them to us, if occasion had de- 
manded. The Judaizing teachers are only flattering and 



GALATIANS 



167 



deceiving you. They do not love you as I do. They want 
to count you as adherents to Judaistic Christianity. Oh, 
I wish I could be with you and be assured that you are 
now as loyal to the gospel of grace as when you first re- 
ceived it. 

8. Let me illustrate your exalted state of free men in 
Christ. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael, the son of Hagar 
the slave, and Isaac, the son of Sarah, his wife. As Ishmael 
enjoyed not the blessings of Abraham's home, but must 
be cast out, so must it be with the adherents to the law 
method of right standing with God. But as Isaac was 
the child of promise, so we all who become sons through 
faith in Christ are heirs of the spiritual promise. As Ish- 
mael persecuted Isaac, so his descendants now persecute 
the children of promise who are made free in Christ Jesus 
(chap. 4). 

Therefore, I beseech you to stand firm in this free- 
dom of Christ. If any one is circumcised he must keep 
the whole law, if he would possess right standing with 
God. Whoever seeks thus to attain right standing with 
God has no chance at the method of grace in Christ. Oh, 
who did hinder you who were running so beautifully the 
race of Christ's free men? But I still have faith in you 
that you will resist the bewitching voice of false teachers 
and continue in the beautiful race. 

If you want to keep the law, love one another, for 
this is the summing up of the whole law. Walk in the 
Spirit and yield the fruit of love, joy, peace, long-suffer- 
ing, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-con- 
trol, and yield not to the appetites of the flesh by working 
fornication, lasciviousness, enmities, envyings, drunken- 
ness, and such like (chap. 5). 

Counsel him who falls under the shadow of tempta- 
tions, bear the burdens of the weak, and thus keep the law 
of God. Bestow your material goods on your religious 
leaders, who pour forth spiritual treasures into your lives. 
If you sow thus to the Spirit, you shall reap a spiritual 
harvest; if you sow to the lower appetites, you will suffer 
the defiling of your moral nature. 



168 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



The false teachers glory in the number of their dis- 
ciples, but let me never boast except in the cross of Christ, 
which severs my relation to the world and binds me to 
Christ my Savior and Lord, thus making me a new crea- 
ture. Then let my enemies be silent, since I happily suffer 
for Christ and carry in my body marks of the cross. The 
gracious power of the Lord Jesus keep your spirits. 



CHAPTER XIX 



FIRST CORINTHIANS 

After Paul's eighteen months' stay in Corinth, in which 
he founded a strong church, he went up to Jerusalem, and 
greeted the church there, then went down to Antioch in 
Syria, where he spent some time and wrote the letter to 
the Galatians, which we described in the previous chap- 
ter. 

1. Paul and Apollos in Ephesus. After revisiting 
Galatia and Phrygia, Paul located in Ephesus, the capital 
of the Roman province Asia, from which center he car- 
ried on a splendid evangelistic campaign for three years. 
Ephesus was a city of great power and a key to all 
Western Asia, and this is why Paul made it headquar- 
ters for his third missionary campaign. Ephesus was the 
seat of Diana worship. This Diana was not Diana of the 
Greeks, but was an Eastern goddess, and so the worship 
of Diana was an Eastern and not a Western religion. 

Before passing to the further events in Paul's life, 
we must pause to consider his relation to Apollos, and 
the relation of the two to the church in Corinth. Apollos 
was a learned Alexandrian, was able in the Old Testament 
Scriptures, and an eloquent speaker. He was the opposite 
of Paul in his style of preaching. He was only imperfectly 
instructed in Christianity when he came to Ephesus. He 
was better instructed by Priscilla and Aquila, and then 
became a giant preacher of the gospel in Ephesus and Cor- 
inth. His eloquence appealed to many of the Greeks at 
Corinth and became the occasion of division in the Cor- 
inthian church, although Paul never intimates that Apollos 
is personally blameworthy in the matter of its factions. 

2. Paul Baptized the Twelve. On reaching Ephesus 
Paul found twelve disciples of John who seem to have 
been true disciples of Christ, since they had not so much 
as heard that the Holy Spirit had been given. Paul told 
them the story of Christ, baptized them, laid his hands 
upon them, and then they received the power of the Holy 



170 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Spirit. As hinted above, it seems very probable that these 
twelve men were only disciples of John and had not been 
subjects of a real spiritual experience in the personal ac- 
ceptance of Christ as Savior. Hence, Paul baptized them 
again, since their first so-called baptism was administered 
on apparently improper subjects. 

3. Paul Preaches and Teaches in Ephesus. He 

preached in the Jewish synagogue for three months, but 
on the arising of opposition from the Jews he made his 
headquarters in the hall used by one Tyrannus, who was 
either a philosopher or a rhetorician, teaching a class in 
this hall at certain hours in the day. In this hall Paul 
continued to discourse on Christianity for two years, so 
that, not only in Ephesus, but in all the province of Asia, 
both Jews and Greeks heard the word, and large num- 
bers of them accepted the gospel. Many churches were 
founded, in Colossse, Laodicea, and perhaps many others 
in various parts of the Asiatic province. He also wrought 
many mighty miracles. For the biblical description of 
this great campaign, see the nineteenth chapter of Acts. 

Paul's Relation to Corinth at This Time 

But during all this period of his activity in Ephesus, 
Paul kept in close touch with Corinth, the significant cen- 
ter of Christianity not only in Greece but in all Europe. 
We can trace at least the following communications be- 
tween Paul and the Corinthian church during these years: 

1. A Second Visit. It is likely that Paul made a sec- 
ond visit to Corinth, which came not between our first 
and second Corinthians, but before the writing even of 
our first letter to the Corinthians (See II Cor. 2:13; 13:1). 
The Apostle no doubt made this visit to rectify existing 
errors and to promote unity in the church. 

2. A Lost Letter. In Paul's first letter to the church, 
that is, the first letter in our canon, he refers to a let- 
ter which he had previously written to the church (See 
I Cor. 5:9). Paul likely wrote this lost letter concerning 
the same problems for which he made the second visit. 



FIRST CORINTHIANS 



171 



3. News From Chloe's Household. About this same 
time Paul tells us that members of the household of Chloe 
came to Ephesus and told him that there was a four-fold 
division in the church at Corinth (See I Cor. 1 :ii). 

4. He Sends Timothy. After hearing this sad news, 
and probably before writing our first letter to the Cor- 
inthians, the Apostle sends Timothy to harmonize the 
contending parties and rectify all existing errors (See 
I Cor. 4:17). But Timothy was not able to cope with the 
contending factions in Corinth. 

5. A Letter and Three Messengers from Corinth. 
Some time after the above incident Fortunatus, Stephanus, 
and Achaicus came from Corinth to Ephesus and it is 
likely that they, as messengers of the church, bore a let- 
ter in which the church asked the Apostle a number of 
questions concerning marriage, the eating of things of- 
fered to idols, spiritual gifts, etc. (See I Cor. 16:1-18; 
also 7:1). 

Paul Writes Our First Letter 

1. The Occasion. The circumstances out of which 
grew this letter seem to be as follows : the church in Cor- 
inth had become divided into four factions, the Pauline 
party, the Petrine party, the Apollos party, and the Christ 
party. As hinted above this news was borne to the Apos- 
tle by members of the household of Chloe. The church 
had also written the letter, to which we alluded above, ask- 
ing an answer to certain questions. The news brought by 
the household of Chloe and the letter from the church in 
Corinth constitute the circumstances demanding the writ- 
ing of our First Corinthians. 

2. The Purpose. The design of the Apostle in writ- 
ing this intensely practical letter was: (1) To correct the 
evils existing in the church at Corinth concerning the in- 
cestuous person, litigation, eating things offered to idols, 
the observance of the Lord's Supper, etc. (2) To bring 
about the unity of the church — to unite the four factions 
into one great body in Christ Jesus. (3) To secure the 
co-operation of this great central church in the work of 
benevolence and evangelization (See 16:10-12). 



172 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



3. The Date. It is likely that most of Paul's stay 
in Ephesus was past before the various communications 
mentioned above had been completed. So we would place 
the composition of this letter toward the close of his resi- 
dence in Ephesus, about the year 57. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-9). 

1. Salutation (1:1-3). 

2. The Apostle's thanksgiving (1:4-9). 

II. The Evils Reported by the Household of Chloe (1:10-6:20). 

1. The factious spirit condemned (1:10-4:20). 

(a) The facts stated as to the four parties (1:10-17). 

(b) The factious spirit forgets that Christian teachers are 
given by the wisdom of God (l:17b-3:4). 

(c) The factious spirit overlooks the real function of Chris- 
tian teachers as founders, planters, and waterers, under 
God the fruit giver (3:5-4:16). 

(d) Epilogue as to the factious spirit — mission of Timothy 
and the coming of Paul (4:17-21). 

2. The incestuous man and the false attitude of the church to- 
ward him (5:1-13). 

3. Litigation at heathen courts forbidden (6:1-11). 

4. Fornication denounced (6:12-21). 

III. Paul's Reply to the Letter From the Corinthian Church (Chap- 

ters 7-14). 

1. Concerning marriage (Chapter 7). 

2. Concerning things offered to idols (8:1-11:1). 

(a) Eating foods offered to idols legitimate but not ex- 
pedient (8:1-13). 

(b) His own example in waiving personal rights in minister- 
ial support (Chapter 9). 

(c) Warning from the Old Testament against pride and self- 
conceit (10:1-13). 

(d) Argument from the Lord's Supper (10:14-22). 

(e) Christian liberty must be under the control of love 
(10:23-11:1). 

3. Women must pray and prophesy veiled or with long hair 
(11:2-16). 

4. Disorders in observing the Lord's Supper corrected (11:17-34). 

5. Instructions concerning spiritual gifts (Chapters 12-14). 

(a) They vary in different people (Chapter 12). 

(b) Love the greatest of all the gifts (Chapter 13). 

(c) Prophecy greater than the gift of tongues (14:1-25). 

(d) Exercising these gifts in the assembly (14:26-36). 

(e) These instructions concluded (14:37-40). 

IV. The Resurrection: Its proofs and its significance to Christian 

people (15:1-58). 

V. Conclusion: the collection, his anticipated visit, visit of Timothy, 

and greetings (16:1-24). 



The Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, an apostle by divine appointment, and Sosthenes, 
wish spiritual blessing and prosperity to the church. 



FIRST CORINTHIANS 



173 



I thank God for His blessings on you, and for your 
spiritual attainments unexcelled by other churches in 
many things ; that you are waiting for the promised glory 
of Christ at His coming. 

I beseech you, my brothers, to have no divisions 
among you. I have heard from the kinsmen of Chloe that 
there are four parties in your church, one following Paul, 
another Apollos, another Peter, and another with the ex- 
alted title of the Christ party. This is unthinkable, for 
Christ cannot be divided, and so His body should not be. 
I am glad that I baptized only a few in Corinth. The 
Lord sent me to evangelize and not to baptize, and so I 
formed no personal relations which could justify the en- 
gendering of such factions. 

And Christ sent me to preach the cross in the plain 
speech of an earnest man, not in the thrilling rhetoric of 
the orator, lest the cross, which is the power of God, 
should be robbed of its efficacy. The message of the 
cross is a snare to the Jew and foolishness to the Greek, 
but it is the power of God for the rescue of men from 
sin. It is a part of the divine plan to use insignificant 
means in the reclamation of lost men (chap. i). 

My message to you Corinthians was Christ crucified. 
But remember that this message includes a wisdom, a wis- 
dom that is not of the earth but of heaven, the mystery 
of the loving purpose of God to reclaim the lost world by 
means of the cross. No human powers could ever dis- 
cern this heavenly philosophy. Only the Spirit illumines 
our souls and helps us to understand the secrets of God's 
rescuing love. This factious spirit of yours ignores this 
divine philosophy involved in the cross (chap. 2). 

I could not count you as men of eminent spiritual 
growth, because of your factious disposition, which is the 
mark of the lower and not the higher man. Remember 
that your spiritual teachers are nothing but vehicles for 
bringing the truth, and God alone produces spiritual re- 
sults in reclaiming the lost and training the rescued. 

Christ is the only foundation for hope and character. 
The quality and number of good deeds we do determine 



174 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



the reward we receive at last. If our deeds are not of a 
lasting nature, we shall receive no reward. 

Forget not that you are the habitation of God's Spirit, 
and if you corrupt with factions or immorality the house 
in which the Spirit lives, you must suffer loss. 

Stop being conceited and become as fools, that you 
may ascribe all glory to God and not to your religious 
leaders, for they are only a part of your universal, spiritual 
treasures (chap. 3). 

We spiritual leaders are stewards of God's love and 
truth and must be faithful in handling that truth. Espe- 
cially do I apply this principle to Apollos and myself, who 
suffer and toil as examples of gentleness and humility. I 
have sent Timothy, and I hope to come later myself, to 
help settle the troubles in your church (chap. 4). 

The news comes to me that you tolerate the most in- 
conceivable form of fornication in that you permit a son 
to have his father's wife. Instead of rebuking him, and 
being humiliated over such abominable immorality, you 
actually boast of such deeds. He who commits such im- 
morality should be put out of the church for two reasons: 
such a person acts like leaven to corrupt the whole church, 
while the discipline of expulsion would punish the sin and 
purify the spirit of the offender (chap. 5). 

Will any brother go to law with his brother in the 
heathen courts to be judged by unrighteous men? Cer- 
tainly not, for Christians shall join with the Lord in passing 
the final sentence upon the unrighteous and the fallen an- 
gels. It is better to be defrauded by your brother than to 
secure your rights in the courts of the wicked. Let the 
church tribunal settle all such matters between its mem- 
bers. 

The body is for the Lord and not for the gratification 
of its passions. Avoid harlotry, because such a sin de- 
files the body and puts the sinner on a par with the harlot. 
You are members of Christ's body and so cannot consist- 
ently be in fellowship with harlots. Shun this sin because 
you were purchased by Christ and so belong to Him in 
holy service (chap. 6). 



FIRST CORINTHIANS 



175 



As to the question of marriage about which you ask, 
it is better for a man to have no relations at all with 
women. Yet, it is better to marry than for the sexes to 
have illicit relations with each other. If men and women 
marry, let them be true to each other in all things. If they 
separate for religious purposes, it must be only temporary 
and with a definite understanding on the part of both. 

I suffer not the final separation of a husband and wife. 
Let not even the believing husband or wife leave the un- 
believing consort. The unbelieving partner may be ele- 
vated and reclaimed by the influence of the believing one. 
The children also have a better religious influence if only 
one parent is a Christian. Yet I lay down the universal 
principle that it is better in these times of peril for all 
men and women to remain in whatever domestic or social 
relationship they find themselves. Although the Lord in 
person had no teaching on this subject, yet the Spirit im- 
presses me that virgins and widows should not marry in 
these times. They are entirely free to devote themselves 
exclusively to pleasing the Lord. Still I concede that mar- 
riage is a good institution and to marry is right and a 
moral necessity (chap. 7). 

As to buying food from the common market where it 
is furnished as an offering to idols, there is no harm in 
the practice itself. An idol is nothing at all, and yet some 
men are weak in the faith and think that idols are real, and 
in such cases eating food offered to idols is a sin. We must 
not grieve the conscience of our weak brother by this prac- 
tice. This is the universal rule : I will not do anything that 
causes my brother to sin, even though the thing may be 
right in itself. 

I live up to this principle in my apostolic liberty. I 
have a right to marry but I refrain. I have a right to de- 
mand support for my ministry, for God has ordained that 
the preachers of the gospel shall be supported by those 
whom they serve. I support myself, although I am free to 
do anything that is right. I bring myself into subjection 
to others, adjusting myself to the Jew or Gentile, to the 
weak or the strong, that I may win them to Christ. I 



176 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



must preach because God has called me to do so, and yet 
I will do it cheerfully and win the prize at last. I am 
running in life's race, and to reach the goal in honor and 
win the prize I forego my personal privileges, beating 
down my lower passions and letting the higher principles 
reign. Christian liberty must not be abused. Remember 
the example of ancient Israel. The idolaters, fornicators, 
and murmurers were slain, but the true followers were 
loyal to Moses. Liberty does not mean license to do the 
evil, for it is not fitting to eat of the Lord's table and the 
table of demons too. Follow this universal principle: Suf- 
fer and practice that which edifies your brother and seek 
not your own pleasure or profit. 

Follow me in these matters as I follow Christ. We 
must observe the same principle in worship and in eating 
the Lord's Supper. It is fitting for women to pray and 
prophesy veiled with long hair and for men to do so with- 
out such a veil. It is a shame for women to worship with 
clipped heads and thus assume the role of a street harlot. 

The supper is to show forth the Lord's death with a 
view to His second coming. If you do not recognize the 
Lord's death as you eat the bread and drink the wine, you 
shall suffer spiritual loss. Let the rich and poor partake 
of the supper together in brotherhood (chaps. 8-n). 

In the matter of gifts we all have different spiritual 
gifts from God. The church is a spiritual body, and as the 
physical body has various members with different func- 
tions, so are we in Christ's body. Let not the least hon- 
orable members minimize their place in the spiritual body, 
for God puts the greatest honor on our most uncomely 
members. 

As to speaking with tongues, or in spiritual ecstasy, 
it is a gift inferior to prophecy. Prophecy is the utter- 
ance of an intelligent spiritual message from God. It edi- 
fies our brother, while speaking with tongues blesses only 
the speaker. But love is the greatest of all the gifts, 
greater even than knowledge, prophecy, the working of 
miracles, faith, or hope. Love endures all things, accom- 
plishes all things, is always optimistic, and abides forever. 



FIRST CORINTHIANS 



177 



In summing up our teachings on the gifts: Let there 
exist a proper proportion and a beautiful decorum in their 
exercise. Especially let the women, as Providence intend- 
ed, remain in silence and subordination in the expression 
of these gifts in the public assembly (chaps. 12-14). 

As to the resurrection of the dead concerning which 
you have doubts, it is one of the chief elements of my gos- 
pel which I received from Christ. Indeed, the two vital 
elements of the gospel are the death and resurrection of 
Christ. I have investigated the evidence for the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus and I find that He did appear to Peter, to the 
Twelve, to over five hundred at one time, to James, again 
to all the apostles, and last of all to me as one who had 
become an apostle out of date. 

Now if Christ arose, it cannot be asserted that the 
resurrection is impossible. On the other hand, if there is 
no resurrection at all, then Christ did not rise. But if 
Christ has not risen our religion is an empty thing and 
we are false witnesses, for we have claimed that He did 
rise. Moreover, there is no forgiveness in a mere dead 
Christ. It is the living Christ, who once died, that now 
forgives sin. If Christ did not rise, we Christians are of 
all men most pitiable, since we suffer in this life and have 
no future life of reward. But Christ did rise and become 
the spiritual head of the race as Adam is the natural head. 
As all the race died in Adam, so all believers live in Christ 
and will rise from the dead as He did. As He conquered 
death in his own case, He will conquer the grave for all 
His followers. His resurrection is the pledge that all who 
believe in Him shall rise. Even the false practice of some 
of your people in baptizing the living on behalf of the dead, 
proves our natural belief in the resurrection. The resur- 
rection is necessary in order to give the suffering Christian 
another life in which to reap the rewards of his suffering 
here. 

The new body will be a spiritual one, not subject to 
pain or sorrow or corruption. In the last day the dead in 
Christ shall rise first, and the living Christians shall be 
changed into the spiritual mode of existence. Then all 



178 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



shall shout in triumph, O Death, where is your sting! 
Therefore, brethren, toil on and suffer on in the hope of 
the resurrection and a blessed future (chap. 15). 

Finally, I exhort you to look after the collection for 
the saints in Palestine. Let each one of you on each Lord's 
Day lay by a certain amount according to his material 
prosperity. I am coming after a while to see you, but I 
must stay at Ephesus until Pentecost. Receive Timothy 
as my co-laborer. Apollos will come by and by. I am 
glad that Fortunatus, Stephanus, and Achaicus came to 
see me and cheered my heart. The churches of Asia greet 
you. Aquila, Priscilla, and all greet you. My own greet- 
ings to you. If any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him 
be accursed. O Lord, come. My love to you all in Christ 
Jesus. 



CHAPTER XX 



SECOND CORINTHIANS 

Paul is still in Ephesus and his stay must soon close. 

His Last Days in Ephesus 

Paul's last days in the city of Ephesus were crowded 
with opposition and confusion. His gospel had under- 
mined the manufacturing business of Demetrius, who made 
images of the goddess Diana for the use of her worshippers. 
So Demetrius called a meeting of all his tradesmen, espe- 
cially those employed directly in the business, and insidu- 
ously appealed to their religious sentiments. He reminded 
them that Paul's preaching was undermining the worship 
of Diana which was so popular in Western Asia. His real 
opposition, however, was a personal, financial hostility to 
Paul. Because of the preaching of the Apostle, the busi- 
ness of selling images of Diana was "coming into disre- 
pute." This harangue, being a combination of economic 
and religious elements, threw the city into an uproar. Paul 
was as fearless as a lion, and wished to rush into the the- 
atre, into the midst of the people, in defense of the truth. 
The Roman Asiarchs, who were friendly to Paul, saved him 
from the vicious and destructive mob. The mob was quieted 
by the town clerk, doubtless a Roman official. After the 
uproar ceased Paul sent for the disciples and bade them 
farewell, and set sail from Macedonia, whither he had sent 
Timothy and Erastus just before the opposition of De- 
metrius. Luke tells us that Paul had a plan at this time 
for visiting Jerusalem on leaving Ephesus, and then Rome 
itself. But the pressure on account of the troubles in the 
church at Corinth turned his face westward. 

He Writes Second Corinthians 

It was in the midst of these heart-rending troubles 
both in Ephesus and Corinth that Paul wrote his second 
letter to the Corinthian church. 

i. Its Occasion. Before leaving Ephesus Paul had 
heard of the troubles in the church at Corinth and had sent 



180 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Titus to the Grecian capital to correct these persisting 
evils and to persuade the church to submit to his author- 
ity and gospel. Titus delayed his return until after Paul 
had left Ephesus. On leaving Ephesus Paul went down 
to Troas hoping to meet Titus in the coast town with some 
news from Corinth (See II Cor. 1:8-9). But Titus still 
delayed, and Paul was so burdened over the condition of 
the church in Corinth that he could not preach at Troas, 
although a wide door of opportunity was open for him. 
The Apostle was so restless and anxious that he could not 
remain in Troas and so sailed to Macedonia, where Titus 
met him and reported the condition of affairs in Corinth. 
The news brought by Titus was in the main good. The 
majority of the church had endorsed Paul's gospel and 
submitted to his authority. On the other hand, a minority 
of the church seem to have followed the Judaizing teachers. 
The report of Titus at first filled the Apostle's heart with 
joy and a sense of triumph for his gospel. Yet the per- 
sistence of the Judaizing element left traces of sadness and 
sorrow in his rejoicing heart. These are the circumstances 
out of which grew our Second Corinthians. 

2. The Purpose. What was the purpose that moved 
the Apostle to write this strange, vehement letter? His 
design was: (1) To express his joy over the victory of the 
universal gospel in the capital city of Greece. He feels that 
now his gospel has demonstrated its power to cope with 
the culture and philosophy of Greece. His joy knows no 
bounds at such a triumph of the gospel of grace of which 
he and his missionary group had been such staunch and 
incessant supporters. (2) To express his personal interest 
in the church at Corinth. He had been promising them to 
make a personal visit, but hitherto he had delayed in the 
fulfillment of this promise. His enemies seem to have 
accused him of being afraid to come. Paul assures them 
that he is just as bold in their presence as in their absence, 
and that the real reason for his refraining from making 
the personal visit, was that he might avoid being so severe 
in his dealings with them. He wanted to come in joy and 
not in sorrow. He wishes to write this letter to explain all 



SECOND CORINTHIANS 



181 



these personal matters. (3) To defend his apostolic au- 
thority against the criticism of the Judaizing teachers. He 
realized the persistent opposition which the Judaizers would 
still maintain, in spite of their defeat by the great majority 
in the church. So he feels that he must deal a last tri- 
umphant stroke at these false teachers by proving to them 
and all concerned that both his gospel and apostleship are 
divine in origin and authority. 

3. The Date. It is likely that only a few months 
elapsed after the reception of the first letter before these 
difficulties came to a head in the church in Corinth. This 
climax of the difficulties led to the sending of Titus, and 
his report became the occasion of writing the second let- 
ter. These events need not cover more than three or four 
months, and so the most probable date of this second letter 
to the Corinthians is the summer or fall of 57. 

4. The Genuineness of This Letter. We need not 
pause long to discuss the Pauline authorship of this strange 
but strong letter. Even the Tubingen school, headed by 
Baur, conceded the Pauline authorship of this letter. All 
modern scholars, even of the most radical type, excepting 
a few Dutch scholars, accept the Apostle Paul as the au- 
thor of this masterful letter. The historical conditions im- 
plied in the letter are intensely Pauline, since they reflect 
the struggle between Paul and his Judaistic opponents. 
Again, it is inconceivable what purposes could have been 
achieved by the invention of such a line of historical cir- 
cumstances by a forger. The letter breathes the very at- 
mosphere of the life and struggles of Paul. None but the 
Apostle Paul could have written such a striking and tri- 
umphant letter. 

5. Its Unity. This is a question on which the schol- 
ars are not by any means unanimous. Although the most 
of modern New Testament scholars think that Paul wrote 
this letter, many of them do not think that he wrote it all 
at one time. Many suppose that it is the result of piecing 
together two, three, or even more, of Paul's genuine letters, 
written on different occasions and for different purposes. 
The basis of argument against the unity of the letter is 



182 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



that chapters I to 7 describe the reconciliation of the church 
to the Apostle, while in chapters 10 to 13 he is defending 
his apostolic authority as if the church was still hostile 
to him. But it is psychologically possible to explain chap- 
ters 10 to 13 as a part of the letter. They may be con- 
ceived as forming a natural conclusion to chapters 1 to 7. 
In the first seven chapters Paul describes his victory, but 
before he closes the letter he feels the weight of the op- 
position and recognizes the persistence of his enemies. 
Hence the conclusion of the letter with an unanswerable de- 
defense of his apostolic authority. He is rejoicing over the 
victory but feels that one more masterful stroke would 
guarantee beyond all question the certain duration of this 
triumph. As to the collection chapters, 8 and 9, they could 
easily be fitted into this personal, practical, apologetic let- 
ter. The Apostle's mind would naturally turn to this great 
collection as he continued to rejoice over his recent tri- 
umph in Corinth. The collection was to him a means of 
perfecting a fellowship between Jewish and Gentile Chris- 
tians, and this new victory of universal Christianity would 
naturally suggest to him the collection and its results in 
securing an international brotherhood of Christians. As 
to the section 6:14-7:1, a hortatory passage against the 
fellowship of the good with the evil, it is easy to explain 
the insertion of this passage as a parenthesis in which the 
Apostle feels that he must emphasize the necessity of a 
high and holy fellowship in the church, in the face of this 
splendid victory of the i gospel of grace. The modern 
scholars who have questioned, or are questioning, the unity 
of this letter, are Semler, Clemen, Hausrath, Schmiedel, 
McGiffert, Kennedy, and a few others. On the other hand, 
the great majority of New Testament scholars not only ac- 
cept the genuineness, but also the unity, of this second let- 
ter to the Corinthians. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-11). 

1. Salutation (1:1, 2). 

2. Thanksgiving (1:3-11). 



SECOND CORINTHIANS 



183 



II. Paul's Anxiety as to the Anticipated Visit and Previous Letter, 

With His Final Joyful Triumph (1:12-7:15). 

1. His holy, sincere conduct in this matter (1:12-14). 

2. Why he changed his mind as to the visit; motives for the 
former letter; exhortation to forgive the wrongdoer whose 
course was the occasion of the former letter (1:15-2:11). 

3. His suspense at Troas for news from Corinth (2:12-17). 

4. A digression on the glories of the apostolic ministry (3:1- 
6:13). 

(a) The ministry of the new covenant relies on God and 
not on letters of commendation (3:1-11). 

(b) Hence its boldness (3:12-18). 

(c) Christ its theme (4:1-6). 

(d) Unselfish sufferings accompany it (4:7-15). 

(e) Its ministers preach in hope of eternal things in the 
midst of persecution (4:15-5:10). 

(f) Its ministers, ambassadors of Christ (5:11-6:13). 

5. Paul's love for the Corinthians with a parenthesis exhorting 
them to pure living (6:14-7:4). 

6. The suspense terminates in triumphant joy in Macedonia 
(7:5-15). 

III. The Collection for the Jerusalem Saints (Chapters 8 and 9). 

1. The example of the Macedonian churches (8:1-5). 

2. Titus sent to complete the collection (8:6-8). 

3. Example of Christ as a motive in giving (8:9). 

4. Exhortations and promises as to liberal giving (8:10t15). 

5. Other helpers in completing the collection (8:16-24). 

6. Further exhortation lest he should be put to shame before the 
Macedonians (9:1-5). 

7. The manner of giving (9:6-9). 

8. The blessings of giving (9:10-15). 

IV. Paul's Defense of His Apostleship (10:1-12:13). 

1. He turns the charges of his enemies against them (Chapter 
10). 

2. He boasts of his suffering, labors, and visions as proofs of 
his apostolic authority (11:1-12:13). 

V. Conclusion: Personal Matters, Injunctions, Salutations, and Bene- 

dictions (12:14-13:14). 

The Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, a divinely appointed apostle, and Timothy, our 
brother, wish the church in Corinth and the saints in all 
Greece spiritual blessing and prosperity. 

We praise God, the Father of all comfort, who com- 
forts us in all our suffering for Christ's sake, that we may 
be able to comfort you in your sorrow. We are hopeful 
that as you have shared the sufferings you will also share 
the comfort of Christ through us. Never forget how at 
Troas we were weighed down in anxiety for you, even to 
the point of despair, with a death sentence hanging over 
us. But God delivered us, and He will ever deliver us 
through your prayers for us. 



184 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Remember I have a clear conscience as to my sincerity 
and fidelity while preaching and laboring among you. 

At first I had purposed to come by Corinth to Mace- 
donia and to return from Macedonia to you, and thus give 
you a double visit. Not in fickleness did I change my 
mind, but for your sakes, that I might not meet you with 
scolding and condemnation, but in praise and benediction. 
I am always true to my word, for the gospel of Christ is 
an eternal Yes unto the glory of God through us (chap. i). 

I did not wish to come to you in grief, so I wrote my 
other letter and caused you pain, that when I did come in 
person I might have joy, and that you might know how 
tenderly I love you and how much interest I have in your 
church. 

I now beg you to forgive that noted offender in the 
church, who seems to be sufficiently penitent. I wrote the 
former sharp letter to produce this result. I forgive him, 
let the church do so, that Satan may be conquered. 

When I came to Troas to meet Titus on his return 
from you, my heart was crushed with grief because I did 
not meet him there. I could not preach for heaviness of 
heart and so I crossed the sea to Macedonia. But thanks 
be to God, who always gives us the victory through Christ 
Jesus and makes us sufficient for such burdens, because 
we are not common hucksterers of the word of God, but 
simple, earnest preachers of the gospel (chap. 2). 

Are we commending ourselves? Not at all. We need 
no letters of commendation, for the church in Corinth is 
our letter of commendation, a letter written not with ink 
but with the Spirit, not on paper but on the hearts of true 
Christians. This sufficiency of ours is from God and not 
inherent in us. For if the old covenant written on tablets 
of stone by Moses with veiled face, the covenant that brings 
condemnation and that passes away, is glorious, how much 
more glorious shall be the ministration of the new cove- 
nant, spiritual and eternal! 

With such a covenant of glory to minister to men, we 
put on no veil as Moses did, but are bold in the liberty given 



SECOND CORINTHIANS 



185 



in Christ, according to which we continue to behold from 
day to day, as in a mirror, the increasing, transforming 
glory of the Lord Jesus (chap. 3). 

Our ministry is not in craftiness, and our gospel is 
not hidden, except to those who are morally incapable of 
appreciating it. Our ministry proclaims Christ as Lord 
and ourselves as your servants for His sake, since God, who 
caused the light to shine at the beginning of creation, has 
also caused the light to shine in our hearts through Christ, 
our Savior. 

As ministers of Christ we suffer and toil ; yea, we cru- 
cify self that spiritual life may be yours. Yet we are op- 
timistic in our sufferings, for we know that He who raised 
the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Him. Therefore, we 
faint not, since our light sufferings here will increase our 
glory yonder. We keep our eye on the unseen things 
which abide forever, not on the things that are seen, which 
pass away (chap. 4). 

For we know that we have a spiritual body from God, 
eternal in heaven, and although we groan in this mortal 
body, longing for the better one in heaven, yet we know 
that this mortal body shall be exchanged for one that is 
immortal. We are optimistic in our present state of suf- 
fering, but still we long to give up the body of pain for 
one of painless glory. So we study, whether we live or 
die, to please the Lord and be ready for divine approval at 
last. 

The ministry of the new covenant is that of an am- 
bassador for Christ. Therefore, we are representing Him 
on earth and beseeching men to seek forgiveness from 
God; to seek His favor by faith in Christ Jesus, who for 
us was made an offering for sin that we might have right 
standing with God (chap. 5). 

As co-laborers with God we beseech you not to receive 
the love of God in fruitless lives ; leave no stumbling blocks 
in your lives to cause others to fall. We are sincere in our 
suffering and poverty and toil, and love you with a genuine 
love so as to make you good and glad and rich. O Cor- 



186 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



inthians, my heart is stretched to give you a large place in 
my affections, although some of you seem to have drawn 
in the walls of your hearts to crowd us into a small corner 
of your love. O my children, let your hearts expand and 
give us a large place in your affections. Prove this love for 
us by separating yourselves from unbelievers. Live in 
the light and thus make yourselves fit dwelling places for 
the loving, holy God (chap. 6). 

I love you (let me use a bold figure) so that nothing 
but death can separate us. Hence, I will glory in you and 
rejoice in my sufferings. Again, I want to tell you that 
I was in anxiety and anguish of spirit while I waited in 
Macedonia for Titus to report from you. But God gave 
me comfort when Titus came and told me how you longed 
to see us and how loyal you are to our gospel; how you 
had been grieved at first at my sharp letter on the matter 
of dealing with the noted sinner in the church, but at last 
you followed my counsel and was standing firm in the 
truth. This all worked out on the principle that godly 
sorrow for sin means repentance, a repentance that brings 
salvation, which one will never regret is his. I wrote 
that other letter for these very results. I am glad I did 
it. I am also glad that Titus has faith in you and affection 
for your church, as he has seen your fidelity in these mat- 
ters (chap. 7). 

Moreover, we now pass to another matter and call 
your attention to the example of the Macedonian churches 
in their contribution to the saints in Palestine. Although 
they were afflicted and poor, they were rich in liberality, 
and gave even beyond their ability. This they did because 
first of all they gave themselves to the Lord and to us as 
doing His will. I beseech you, O Corinthians, excel in the 
grace of giving, as well as in faith and prophecy, moral 
earnestness, and love to us. Follow the example of our 
Lord Jesus, who laid aside His riches in heaven and became 
poor on earth that we might be rich in heaven's treasures. 
Your church was the first to start this offering of love to 
your Jewish brothers. So now finish up the offering. I 
do not ask this to ease others and burden you, but that 



SECOND CORINTHIANS 



187 



there may be an equalizing of burdens. God be praised 
for Titus' care of you. He and two other brethren, one 
of great reputation, and both elected messengers of the 
churches, are to help you raise, handle, and deliver this 
contribution of love, in order that all things might appear 
honorable in the sight of men. Show your love by re- 
ceiving these messengers and by giving your means for 
the relief of the suffering (chap. 8). 

It is superfluous for me to exhort you. But I could 
not afford to be put to shame before the Macedonian Chris- 
tians, before whom I boasted of your readiness and lib- 
erality. So I sent the above messengers to have the con- 
tribution completed. Let each one give, not grudgingly 
or of necessity, but with purpose, cheerfully and liberally, 
and God shall enrich you with spiritual graces and material 
supplies to rebate you for your gifts to Him. These gifts 
from you for your brothers will tighten the ties of brother- 
hood between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Thanks 
be to God for his unspeakable gift of love which makes 
us brothers (chap. 9). 

As to the defense of my apostleship, I have this to say. 
The minority in the church (helped perhaps by a Judaiz- 
ing group outside) have accused me, of being bold in my 
absence and cowardly in my presence with them. I trust 
I shall not have to show any violent courage toward them 
when I do come. Let them remember that our weapons 
of defense are not carnal but spiritual, able to bring into 
subordination and service to Christ the reasonings and 
high thoughts of men. Our enemies consider the outward 
show, and say I am not an apostle because I was not with 
Christ in His earthly ministry. They say my letters are 
weighty and strong, but my physique weak and my speech 
despicable. Let them remember that we shall do, when 
we come, everything we have said in our letters. I am 
not like them, measuring myself with men as they measure 
themselves with themselves, and so never arrive at the 
standard of truth. My boasting is not beyond reason, yet 
I am ambitious to reach outward beyond the province 
of Greece. I want to hold you for the universal gospel, so 



188 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



that you can help me take the regions beyond. I shall let 
God commend me and not commend myself (chap. 10). 

Yet, I beg you to bear with me in my folly of boasting 
just a little. I do this because I have a spiritual jealousy 
for you as my virgin whom I espoused to Christ. I cannot 
bear to see you untrue to Him. If a Judaizing teacher 
comes along and preaches another gospel, you quickly ac- 
quiesce (I mean the minority of the church). Why not 
obey then my gospel? I am not inferior to the greatest 
apostle. If I am rude in speech, I am not in spiritual 
knowledge. They said I was no apostle, because I worked 
with my own hands to support myself. I did this be- 
cause I love you, and I will continue to support myself, 
so that I may shut the mouths of my opponents who them- 
selves are mere false apostles, assuming the role of Christ's 
apostles just as Satan often plays the part of a good an- 
gel. 

Bear with my folly of boasting, I beg of you again. 
You endure my enemies when they boast of their power 
and authority, even though they bring you into the thral- 
dom of the law. Are they bold in their claims? So am I. 
I am just as truly as they a Hebrew, an Israelite of the 
seed of Abraham, the minister of Christ; yea, I am su- 
perior to them because of my innumerable sufferings and 
sorrows, perils and toils, on land and on sea, among my 
countrymen and among foreigners, besides the care of all 
the churches, which weighs more heavily upon me than 
any one else. Yes, I glory in these sufferings for Christ's 
sake. God knows I am not lying. These sufferings and 
toilings and successes prove my apostleship (chap. n). 

I must boast a little further. The Lord has given me 
marvelous visions into spiritual truths and realities. Four- 
teen years ago my spiritual visions were so wonderful that 
I could not tell whether I was in the body or out of the 
body, while my soul was fathoming the deep, unspeakable 
things of God. To keep me humble the Lord let Satan 
send a messenger to torture me, a physical malady which 
has caused me much pain. Three times I prayed for heal- 
ing from this ailment, but every time the Lord has said, 



SECOND CORINTHIANS 



189 



"My spiritual strength is sufficient for you and will refine 
your spirit in the furnace of suffering, and that is far bet- 
ter." So I come back to my first subject of boasting, 
namely, my weakness, which has contributed to my spir- 
itual strength. 

O Corinthians, forgive this boasting. You drove me 
to it; I mean, some of your number did, by denying my 
apostleship, although they had sufficient evidence of it in 
the success of my ministry in Corinth. This is the third 
time I am planning to come to see you. I will not be any 
expense to you, for the parents lay up treasures for the 
children, and not the children for the parents. In prac- 
ticing this policy of self-help, I caught my enemies nod- 
ding. But did I or any of my representatives, Titus or 
the rest, take undue advantage of you? Did we not prac- 
tice what we preached? This is no personal excuse. God 
knows my claims are true, for I am doing this all for your 
edification. I am so apprehensive that there may be fac- 
tions among you when I come (chap. 12). 

Remember when I come this third time I will not 
spare offenders in the church, if they are impenitent or 
oppose our gospel. As Christ suffered in weakness but 
lived again in the power of God, so shall we triumph in our 
weakness and suffering. 

Finally, my brothers, farewell. Live as mature Chris- 
tians; live in harmony and peace, and the God of love and 
peace will dwell in you. Greet one another with a Chris- 
tian kiss. All the saints here greet you. The favor of 
Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the 
Spirit be with you all. 



CHAPTER XXI 



ROMANS 

This letter is Paul's masterpiece. Indeed, from almost 
any point of view, the letter to the Romans is one of the 
masterpieces of the New Testament literature. We now 
come to study the historical conditions in the life of Paul 
and in the church at Rome, out of which grew this won- 
derful epistle. 

Paul's Third Visit to Corinth 

After Paul had received the good news from Corinth 
by Titus, and after he had written our second letter to the 
Corinthians, he visited the churches of Macedonia and 
then passed south into Greece and stopped a while in Cor- 
inth. While remaining here for a time, personally super- 
intending the constructive work of this great church, and 
while peacefully enjoying the triumphs of his universal 
gospel, he calmly composed his masterpiece, the letter to 
the Romans. 

The Church in Rome 

Before considering the letter to the church in Rome, it 
will be profitable for us to pause for a few paragraphs to 
consider the church itself in Rome. 

i. Its Origin. This is a problem buried in obscurity. 
Church history throws very little light on the subject. On 
the other hand, there are some conclusions which we can 
safely draw. It is quite evident that the church in Rome 
was not founded by Peter. Read carefully Galatians 2 19 ; 
Romans 15:2. We find statements here from the pen of 
Paul which would naturally preclude the founding of the 
central church in all heathen territory by Peter, who was 
the apostolic representative of Christianity to the Jews. 
Likewise, it is quite as evident that the Apostle Paul did 
not found the church in Rome (See Romans 1 :9-i3). Paul 
seems not to have visited Rome at all prior to the writing 
of this letter. It is not certain by whom this great church 
was founded. It is possible that it was founded by so ne 



ROMANS 



191 



of the proselytes who were evangelized on the day of 
Pentecost (See Acts 2:10). But there is nothing in early 
Christian literature to substantiate this view. The only 
conclusion we can safely draw is that the church was 
founded by some one, or some group of Christians, who 
possessed a purely Pauline Christianity. 

2. Its Constituent Members. There has been a vig- 
orous contention on the part of some scholars, among 
whom especially may be mentioned Baur, the head of the 
Tubingen school, that the membership was largely com- 
posed of Jewish Christians, with a minority of Gentile 
Christians. The general view held by New Testament 
scholars is that the church was composed very largely of 
Gentile members, with only a minority of Jewish mem- 
bers. There is much positive proof that the composition 
of the church was predominantly Gentile. Paul was pre- 
eminently the apostle to the Gentiles and seems to have 
been ever sensitive on the point of his apostleship as being 
mainly for Gentiles. It is not likely, then, that he should 
have written his most elaborate theological discussion to 
a church whose membership was in the main composed 
of Jewish Christians. Moreover, there are many definite 
statements in the letter itself which point to the predom- 
inance of Gentiles in the membership of the church. The 
recipients of the letter are included among the Gentiles 
(1:5-6); he wishes to have fruit in the Roman Christians, 
as in the rest of the Gentiles (1 :i3) ; he says that he wan f s 
to preach the gospel at Rome, on the ground that he is 
debtor both to the Greeks and the barbarians (1:14). Sec 
also 11:13-14, where he calls his readers Gentiles. See 
also 11 :25 and 15:15, where he implies that his readers are 
Gentiles. 

The Letter to the Romans 
1. Its Occasion. As intimated above, Paul was in 
Corinth. The fierce battle with the Judaizers had been 
fought and Pauline Christianity had won the day. Phoebe, 
a deaconess of the church in Cenchrese, was about to make 
a visit to Rome. Paul seized this opportunity to send 
a letter to this Gentile church in the world's capital city. 



192 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

There is not a hint in the letter, nor do we have a ref- 
erence in early literature, that there are any local con- 
ditions in the Roman church which called forth the writ- 
ing of this letter. The letter is rather universal and not 
local in its tone. 

2. The Purpose. Godet maintains that Paul wrote 
this letter to set forth a systematic compend of the Pauline 
theology. There is not a line in the letter to show that 
this was the Apostle's purpose. The French critic, Renan, 
supposed that Paul wrote this letter as the basis of all 
theology. Evidence for this position is also lacking so far 
as the letter itself is concerned. The design of the Apos- 
tle, as it seems to us, may be set forth in the three follow- 
ing propositions: (i) To give a somewhat elaborate state- 
ment of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. The 
very essence of Christianity to Paul was God's method of 
grace for helping men to achieve righteousness. So he 
writes this letter to set forth his doctrines of condemning 
universal sin and of justification by faith. (2) He also 
wishes to show the universal claims of Christianity. He 
designs to prove that the Gentile stands on the same foot- 
ing as the Jew, in his relation to God. All men have the 
same chance as to their fellowship with God and eternal 
destiny. (3) He writes to secure the influence of the 
church in Rome for the evangelization of the world (See 
15:19, 24, 28). The Apostle was planning a Western cam- 
paign on which the gospel was to be borne even into Spain. 
He desires to secure the co-operation of this central church 
in the world's capital for the future work of evangelizing 
the Gentiles. 

3. The Date. It is conceded by almost all New Tes- 
tament scholars that this letter was written during Paul's 
stay in Corinth, toward the close of his third missionary 
journey. The most probable date is the winter of 57-58. 

4. General Characteristics. First of all we would 
say the letter to the Romans is noted for its originality 
of thought. It is true that Galatians also has the same 
theme and presents the same original thinking, but the 
Roman letter is marked by a deeper and broader original- 



ROMANS 



193 



ity than that found in Galatians. The letter is also marked 
by its systematic and logical presentation. It is one of 
the finest pieces of logic that ever came from the pen. It 
abounds in quotations from the Old Testament. There 
are about seventy-four more or less direct quotations from 
the old Scriptures. The letter also reveals the deep heart- 
power of the Apostle XSee various parts of chapters 9 and 
10). The great soul of the Apostle is throbbing beneath 
the passionate outbursts of these chapters. The letter 
also contains some of the most eloquent climaxes, not only 
in the New Testament, but in any literature (See the pas- 
sages at the close of chapters 5, 8, and 11). In fact, the 
profoundest powers of the whole personality of the Apostle 
Paul, lifted to the sublime heights under the touch and 
power of the Holy Spirit, are reflected in this wonderful 
letter. As Julicher says, "Here the entire Paul presents 
himself to our contemplation : the rabbinical scholastic, 
the inspired poet, the sober far-sighted pastor of souls, and 
the keen thinker, who with unsparing resolution carries 
out the lines which make all to proceed from God and to 
end in Him." 

5. Its Integrity. The integrity of this letter has been 
the occasion of much debate. The main question turns 
about the sixteenth chapter. The fifteenth chapter is also 
supposed by some not to have been included in the orig- 
inal letter. Marcion, the Gnostic of the Second Century, 
closed the letter with the fourteenth chapter. The main 
objection against the inclusion of the sixteenth chapter 
in the letter is the long list of names of Paul's friends who 
receive and send greetings. The objectors to the inclu- 
sion of this chapter in the letter think many of the names 
point to Ephesus and not Rome as the destination of that 
chapter. But the argument against the integrity of the 
letter is not at all conclusive. Such eminent scholars as 
Harnack, Zahn, Sanday, Headlam, Denney, Ramsay, and 
Lietzmann regard the argument against the integrity of 
the letter as inconclusive. For the integrity of the letter, 
which means the inclusion of the sixteenth chapter, it may 
be answered to the objectors that it is very likely that Paul 



194 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



had a large number of friends in Rome, the capital of the 
empire. Certainly it would be less surprising to find such 
a long list in a letter to the Roman church than in a let- 
ter to the church at Ephesus. We find a long list of sim- 
ilar greetings in Colossians addressed to a church which 
Paul had not visited. It is natural that the Apostle, in 
writing this letter, would make the most of every personal 
tie in Rome, which he expected soon to visit. Hence, we 
can confidently accept the integrity of the letter to the 
Romans. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-17). 

1. Salutation (1:1-7). 

2. Paul's relation to the church (1:8-16). 

3. Theme stated: the method by which men obtain righteous- 
ness (1:17). 

II. The Doctrine of Sin, or Man's Failure to Attain Righteousness 

(1:18-3:20). 

1. The Gentiles fail (l:i8-32). 

(a) Natural religion is insufficient (1:18-20). 

(b) The Gentiles on forsaking the God of nature become 
idolaters (1:21-25). 

(c) Sensuality and immorality the fruit of idolatry (1:25-31). 

(d) Natural religion gives man no power to follow con- 
science (1:32). 

2. The Jews fail (2:1-3:20). 

(a) God's standard of judgment too high for man to meas- 
ure up to it (2:1-16). 

(b) The Jews, like the Gentiles, fail to measure up to this 
standard (2:17-24). 

(c) Even circumcision is preverted (2:25-29). 

(d) Objections to this conclusion answered (3:1-8). 

(e) Proof of the universality of sin from the Old Testament 
(3:9-20). 

III. God's Method of Justification (3:21-26). 

1. The method stated (3:21-26). 

2. Two results of this method specified (3:27-30). 

(a) Boasting excluded (3:27-28). 

(b) Jews and Gentiles on the same footing (3:29-30). 

3. The relation of this method to the Old Testament teachings 
(3:31-4:25). 

(a) Abraham justified according to this method (4:1-17). 

(b) Abraham's faith a type of the Christian's faith, since 
both rest on the resurrection (4:17-25). 

4. The blessedness of the justified man (5:1-21). 

(a) He experiences conquering hope even in tribulation 
(5:1-4). 

(b) This hope based on the love of God in the gift of His 
Son (5:5-11). 

(c) This blessedness enhanced by contrasting the believer's 
present state in Chist with his past state in Adam 
(5:11-21). 



ROMANS 



195 



IV. Santification, or the Progressive Unfolding of Righteousness 

in Living (Chapters 6-8). 

1. Illustrated by baptism (6:1-14). 

2. Illustrated under two other figures: 

(a) Slavery and emancipation (6:15-23). 

(b) A first and second marriage (7:1-6). 

3. Answer to the objection that the law is sin; the real func- 
tion of the law, not the cause but the occasion of sin, shows 
the heinousness of sin which drives the sinner in despair 
to Christ (7:7-25). 

4. The indwelling Spirit the agent of santification (8:1-27). 

(a) He works through the crucified Christ (8:1-4). 

(b) The flesh and Spirit standards contrasted (3:5-9). 

(c) The indwelling Spirit the cause of the resurrection 
(8:10-13). 

(d) Implies the divine sonship of believers (8:14-17). 

(e) Suffering a part of the Christian's inheritance of glory 
(8:18-25). 

(f) The Spirit helps in bearing these sufferings (8:26, 27). 

5. The five-linked chain of divine purpose behind the Spirit's 
work for the believer's glorification (8:27-30). 

6. Hence, the believer's absolute security (8:31-39). 

V. The Rejection of Israel Explained in Harmony With These Doc- 

trines (Chapters 9-11). 

1. Their rejection not God's fault (Chapter 9). 

2. But their own fault (Chapter 10). 

3. Their rejection is only partial and not permanent (Chapter 
11). 

VI. Practical Teachings (12:1-15:13). 

1. Consecration (12:1, 2). 

2. Body of Christ with the various functions of its members 
(12:3-21). 

3. The believer as a citizezn (13:1-7). 

4. As a member of society (13:8-10). 

5. The second coming as a motive to moral living (13:11-14). 

6. How to treat the weak in the faith (14:1-15:13). 

VII. Conclusion (15:14-16:27). 

1. The reason for writing this letter (15:14-21). 

2. The reason why he had not hitherto visited Rome (15:22a). 

3. Promises to come to Rome on his way to Spain (15:22b-29). 

4. Asks their prayers for his protection in Judea (15:30-33). 

5. Commends Phoebe (16:1, 2). 

6. Salutations and miscellaneous exhortations (16:3-24). 

7. Benediction (16:25-27). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

I Paul, a bond-slave of Jesus Christ, a divinely ap- 
pointed apostle for preaching the good news of God's love 
which He promised long ago through the prophets, a 
message concerning His Son who, on the human side, was 
a descendant of David, but on the divine side was marked 
off with spiritual power to be the Son of God by the res- 
urrection, through whom we received spiritual blessing 
and apostleship by means of faith, which is to be exercised 
by all the Gentiles and so by you saints in Rome, to whom 



196 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



we wish the spiritual blessing and prosperity of the Fa- 
ther and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ that 
the faith of you Christians in Rome is recognized every- 
where. God knows how unceasingly I have longed to see 
you and how I pray without ceasing that it may be His 
will to bring me to Rome some day, that you and I might 
receive spiritual blessings. And. I now inform you that 
my every plan to visit you has been thwarted hitherto, 
but I feel my obligation to all men among the nations, and 
so I send this message to you in Rome. For I am not 
ashamed of the good news of God's love, because it is the 
reclaiming power of God to all men alike who accept it. 
It is this divine power, because in it is disclosed the dis- 
position of God to bestow right standing upon all men who 
trust in Christ. 

And this disclosure of God's disposition to give men 
right standing with himself on the basis of simple trust, is 
itself manifest in the fact that God's natural repugnance 
rests upon the sins of all the Gentile world. God is dis- 
pleased with their sins on the ground that they might 
know Him by the light of nature and of conscience, but 
they have failed to live up to the light, the knowledge of 
His eternal power and divinity. This failure to recognize 
the one true God and the consequent sinking into idolatry 
led to the basest sensuality in both sexes and to the gross- 
est immoralities. Natural religion failed because it can 
impart no power to do the right which conscience approves 
(chap. i). 

For this very reason, thou, O Jew, who condemnest 
the immoral Gentile, art under Lhe same condemnation, 
because thou art guilty of the same sins. This condemna- 
tion falls on the Jews because God's standard of judgment 
respects no man. His standard is the absolute internal 
reality, is according to the real works which men do, not 
according to their external looks or privileges, and ac- 
cording to the good news of Christ, which men must accept 
to escape the condemnation. The Jew will receive greater 
condemnation because he sinned against greater light, the 



ROMANS 



197 



knowledge of the written law, while the Gentile sins only 
against the moral law written on the conscience. 

Thou, O Jew, with all thy privileges, with thy reliance 
on the law, thy boast of one God, thy knowledge of His 
will, and thy position as a teacher of others, art guilty of 
theft, adultery, robbing of temples, dishonoring and blas- 
pheming the name of God. Thy circumcision is not really 
heart circumcision, but merely an external matter. In- 
deed, no one is really a Jew who is not a Jew at heart 
(chap. 2). 

What good is there then in being a Jew? The greatest 
benefit is in the possession of the Holy Scriptures. Another 
objection against this massing of the Jew and the Gentile 
as common sinners is that the unfaithfulness of God's cove- 
nant people reflects on His fidelity to His promise. Not 
in the least, for let God ever be recognized as true, though 
every man should turn out to be a liar. Again, it is ob- 
jected that God cannot be righteous and at the same time 
visit wrath on His people. Oh yes, He can, for He is the 
final Judge of all the earth. In the last place it is objected 
that if men receive right standing from God as a free gift, 
they may sin as much as they please. Not at all. We did 
not say this, and those urging it shall receive their just 
condemnation. 

What then is our conclusion? Is the Jew better than 
the Gentile? Not at all, for we have before asserted that 
both Jews and Gentiles have missed the mark of right 
conduct, and this is proved by the Jewish Scriptures them- 
selves, the psalmists and sages and prophets declaring 
the universality of sin. The Jew is included in this gen- 
eral condemnation of the race, because the Scriptures ap- 
ply specifically to him. 

On the other hand, since Christ has come there is a 
method of right standing with God apart from the keeping 
of the law, although the Old Testament properly interpreted 
bears witness to this method which is for all men alike, 
since we all failed by the law method. That is, this gift is 
for all who will simply trust in Jesus Christ, in whom we 
are purchased from the thraldom of sin by the unmerited 



198 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



love of the Father, and whom the Father offered as a 
sacrifice for sin on the cross for the purpose of show- 
ing that He did punish sin but could freely forgive the 
trusting sinner. By this method of attaining right rela- 
tions with God, boasting is forbidden, and God becomes the 
God of the Gentiles as well as the God of the Jews (chap. 
3). 

What, then, is the relation of this method to the Old 
Testament? It is in perfect harmony. Abraham was 
brought into favor with God, not by doing everything the 
law commanded, but by trusting God's promise, accord- 
ing to Gen. 15:6. If he had worked out his right stand- 
ing with God he could have claimed it as a debt from God, 
but the Scriptures say his trust was reckoned by God as 
if he were keeping the law. Moreover, David also says 
that the happy man is the one whose sins are freely for- 
given and covered by the mercy of God. The history of 
Abraham shows that he came into this right standing with 
God while uncircumcised, that he might be the father of 
all Gentiles who trust in God's mercy through Christ. On 
the other hand, he was circumcised that he might be the 
father also of trusting Jews. There is, in practical ap- 
plication, and never has been, but one method of man's 
attaining right standing with God. Abraham attained it 
by trusting in the resurrection power of God, just as any 
modern sinner achieves it by trusting in Christ who died 
as our sin-offering and rose that we might have right 
standing with God (chap. 4). 

I want to tell you of the happiness of the man who 
enjoys this right relation with God. Let us who are in this 
blessed state rejoice in the good will of God as expressed 
in Christ Jesus through whom, by trust, we have been in- 
troduced to, and now continue to stand in, this happy state 
with the Father, in which we rejoice in the hope of finally 
living in His splendid presence itself. 

And not only this, but we may rejoice even now in 
our sorrows, because they develop the graces of endur- 
ance, testedness of character, and conquering hope. The 
basis of this happy state of favor with the Father is His 



ROMANS 



199 



incomparable love in the gift of His Son for us when we 
were His enemies and breaking His law. And if God de- 
livers us from the guilt of sin by the death of His Son, 
surely He will finally deliver us from the power of sin 
by the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus. 

This happy state in Christ is enhanced in its blessed- 
ness if we compare it with our miserable state in Adam. As 
Adam is the natural head of the race, and by his sinning 
handed down to the whole race the sin principle and even 
death with all its painful attendants, especially its moral 
and spiritual evils, so Christ is the head of the new race 
of those trusting in His love and work. But the contrast 
between the two states is more marked than the parallel. 
The condemnation of the old race came from one act of 
sin. By the falling of Adam, death became the monarch 
of man, but in Christ the new race itself reigns in eternal 
fellowship with God. There the sin principle abounded 
in sorrows, immorality, and death; here the love principle, 
expressing itself in the death of Christ, superabounds in 
the uplift of fallen sinners (chap. 5). 

What is our conclusion as to the relation of this 
method to moral living? If the reclaiming love of God 
superabounds where the sin principle multiplies itself in 
immoralities, sorrows, and death, may we continue to sin 
that God may have the finer opportunity for displaying 
His love? Not in the least. Our baptism itself is a pic- 
ture of a new moral, spiritual life to be lived by us who 
trust in Christ. Baptism is a death and resurrection scene, 
and signifies that the trusting sinner becomes inactive to- 
ward his old life of sin and rises to live a new life. Jesus 
Himself, on dying and rising from the dead, ceased from 
His old life in relation to the putting away of sin and en- 
tered upon a new life with the Father. So you Christians 
reckon yourselves as forever done with your old lives of 
sin, but" now in fellowship with God to live the beautiful 
moral, spiritual life. 

Stop letting sin be your king by continuing to use 
your physical members in the doing of evil, but once for 
all offer yourselves to God as in full fellowship with Him 



200 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



and continue to use your members in doing good. In 
thus living sin shall cease to be your master. 

Moreover, this new life may be represented by a new 
figure. The sinner was once a slave to the sin principle. 
He has been released from that bondage, but only to enter 
upon the blissful servitude of doing right and living pure. 
The end of the first slavery is death. The end of the 
second is life and happy fellowship with God by trusting 
in Christ Jesus (chap. 6). 

Certainly you know this truth, but I will illustrate 
it further with the case of a first and second marriage. The 
wife is free from the law of her first marriage when her 
husband is dead. She may be married to another with 
propriety. So the law was our first husband, but now by 
trust in Christ as our Savior and Lord, the force of our 
first marriage is annulled, and we are married to Christ, 
and therefore should bear the fruit of the second marriage, 
which is pure moral living. 

But do not leap to a false conclusion. I do not mean 
that the law is sinful. Far from it. It has a real function 
in leading men to become Christians. What is that func- 
tion? It shows men the activity and heinousness of the 
sin principle, and, acting upon a psychological principle 
that a man longs to do the forbidden things, hurls him 
headlong into sin until it slays him in despair. The law 
has a benevolent and spiritual purpose, but that purpose 
is not to bring men into right standing with God. It can- 
not accomplish this, because of the frailty of human na- 
ture. Although the intellect may see and the awakened 
conscience approve the truth, the moral law gives man no 
power for doing it personally. This was my experience. 
I rushed deeper into sin, seeing the right but doing the 
wrong until in despair I cried out, O wretched man that 
I am ! Then I looked to Christ and He delivered me from 
the guilt of sin and by forgiveness brought me into right 
relation with God (chap. 7). 

The man who trusts in Christ is without condemna- 
tion and is sure of being glorified at last. The Holy Spirit, 
through the crucified Christ, delivered us from the power 



ROMANS 



201 



of sin and now works in our hearts and lives the moral 
transformation which fits us for the glory of God. Those 
who live up to the Spirit's standard mind not the things 
of the flesh ; have risen from their moral past, and live new 
lives as sons of God. The Spirit whispers in our spirits 
that we are fellow-heirs with Christ to the spiritual riches 
of the universe. 

But suffering is the road to glory. As the creation 
below us continues to suffer the consequences of sin but 
will some day be delivered, so we, heirs of God, must suf- 
fer in the hope of being finally delivered from the effects 
of sin. 

But the Spirit helps us bear our sufferings and rec- 
ognize the will of God as we suffer. Moreover, he who 
trusts in Christ is linked to the eternal purposes of the 
loving God. If this is true, what is our conclusion? The 
simple believer in Christ is beyond condemnation, has 
passed the decree of the final court of appeals in heaven, 
and nothing, not even tribulation or persecution or death, 
can separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus 
(chap. 8). 

How I long to see my brothers in the flesh, the Jews, 
accept this method of living! I could wish myself accused 
from Christ if that would bring my brothers to Him, be- 
cause the promises and even the Christ Himself, who is 
God over all blessed forever, are theirs in the providence 
of God. 

But the Scriptures make it clear that not all the natural 
seed of Israel were real spiritual Israel. God chose Isaac 
and not Ishmael, Jacob and not Esau. 

Does that mean that God did not do right? Not at 
all. He did right in hardening Pharoah's heart for He 
did it for purposes of ultimate glory, and also because 
Pharoah himself hardened his own heart. 

Has not God the right to choose some for His service 
and glory, just as the potter has the right to fashion the 
lifeless clay into a splendid vase for the king's parlor? 
Suppose He does visit His displeasure upon wicked men 
who fit themselves for perdition, that He may show His 



202 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



power and glory to the good who trust in Him, and whom 
He has marked off as His own from all eternity — is He 
doing wrong? Never. By this procedure He is merely 
showing that He is the God of the Gentiles and of the 
Jews alike. Trust in His Son wins the favor of the Father 
which formal obedience to the law could not attain (chap. 
9). 

Not God but Israel was to blame for their rejection. 
They had zeal enough, but did not understand God's plan 
of bringing men into favor with Himself, the plan which 
finds its completion in Christ. He who trusts in Him and 
confesses Him as Savior and Lord is delivered from sin. 
This plan includes everybody, Greeks or Romans or Jews, 
for there are no national distinctions with God. 

But how shall the Gentiles know the way in Christ 
unless some one proclaims it among the nations? How 
shall preachers proclaim the good news unless the churches 
send them? But Israel did hear. The prophets proclaimed 
the Word and the apostles heralded the Christ, but the Jews 
stubbornly rejected Him (Chapter 10). 

But this does not mean that God has discarded His 
chosen people, the Jews. Not at all. As a remnant was 
spared in the days of Elijah, a remnant who did not bow the 
knee to Baal, so now a remnant of Jews by the selecting 
love of God has attained the blessing. 

Again, this fall of Israel is only temporary. God used 
Israel's failure for the giving of the gospel to the Gentiles. 
If the fall of Israel be the rising of the Gentiles and the 
spiritual poverty of Israel be the riches of the nations, Oh, 
what will the coming in of Israel at last be but the ushering 
in of the day of His glory ! If Israel, the natural olive, was 
broken out of its stock and the Gentile, a wild olive, was 
grafted in, shall not Israel at last, by trust like that of the 
Gentiles, be grafted once more into the stock of divine 
selection ! Surely all Israel shall be swept into the fold 
at last. Oh, the depths both of the wisdom and of the 
knowledge of God. Our Father's plan runs through the 
history of the ages. His providence has overruled even the 



ROMANS 



203 



rejection of Israel to the benediction of the nations. To 
Him be the glory forever. Amen (Chapter n). 

I beg you, O Roman Christians, because of these truths 
of divine love and mercy in Christ, to consecrate all your 
powers to Him, for this is your rational service. Stop liv- 
ing in the outward styles of this evil age, but know the 
truth and live lives transformed according to the will of 
God. 

We constitute the body of Christ, and as the members 
of the physical body have different functions, so have the 
members of Christ's spiritual body. Those who prophesy, 
or minister, or teach, or exhort, or give, or rule, must render 
service with all their hearts and always do their best. 

Let love rule in all your moral relations. Help the 
helpless, weep with the weeping, rejoice with the rejoicing; 
forgive your enemies and win them to be friends by the 
power of your love (Chapter 12). 

Let everybody, Christians and all, obey the civil laws, 
for the civil government is of divine origin and punishes 
evil for the good of men and for the glory of God. Let 
your obedience to the civil government be a matter of con- 
science. Pay your taxes, even the tribute due to a con- 
quering nation. Love is the fulfillment of the whole law, 
and is the only debt we never finish paying. He who truly 
loves his neighbor will keep the whole law. 

I urge the certainty of Christ's second coming as an 
incentive to putting off the deeds of darkness and putting on 
the deeds of light. Live as becometh the sons of light 
(Chapter 13). 

In the matter of treating the weak in faith follow this 
principle: Permit nothing which causes your brother to 
fall, but do all things for his edification. In all non-essen- 
tials sacrifice your personal preferences for the edification 
of others. This is the principle on which Jesus lived, not to 
please Himself, but to help others. 

In conclusion, I do not mean to question your good- 
ness or knowledge, but I am merely reminding you of these 
truths and principles of living. I have finished the evan- 
gelization of all the regions in these parts and am planning 



204 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



a campaign to the far West, even as far as Spain. On my 
way West I expect to come by you to enlist your co-opera- 
tion in this evangelistic campaign. 

Pray for me, that my enemies in Jerusalem may not 
triumph over me. The God of Peace be with you all. 
Amen. 

I commend Phoebe, a deaconess of the church in Cen- 
chreae, who bears this letter. 



CHAPTER XXII 



PAUL A PRISONER WRITES PHILIPPIANS AND PHILE- 
MON 

We now come to the most thrilling scenes in the life 
of the Apostle. 

1. His Last Visit to Jerusalem. After remaining 
three months in Corinth, Paul, in company with seven of his 
leading fellow workers, set out for Jerusalem. He did not 
go direct by ship to Jerusalem, because the Jews had plotted 
to murder him. He went north, through Macedonia, across 
the sea to Troas, where he spent seven days. On the last 
night in Troas he preached until after midnight, and a 
sleepy young man fell from the window dead, but was re- 
stored to life by Paul. Paul walked from Troas to Assos, 
where he joined the rest of the party on ship. They sailed 
south, by Mitylene, Chios, Samos, to Miletus, where Paul 
delivered a farewell charge to the Ephesian elders, warning 
them against the "grievous wolves" of false teachers and 
bidding them feed the church of God and remember his 
own example of unselfishness and service among them. On 
parting from them he reminded them that possibly they 
would see his face no more. 

As to Paul's purpose for making this visit to Jeru- 
salem, we have already seen in some of his letters that he 
has been raising a collection from the Gentile churches in 
Galatia, Macedonia, Greece, and Asia for the poor saints in 
Judea who were suffering from the famine. Paul raised 
these funds for his Jewish brothers, not only because he 
loved them, but because he felt that this brotherly expres- 
sion from the Gentile Christians would win the love and 
confidence of the Jewish Christians. He felt that if he 
delivered the funds in person it would help to cement the 
ties of fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish forces 
of Christianity. 

2. His Reception by the Church There. Paul's party 
sailed from Miletus, by Cos and Rhodes, unto Patara, where 
they changed ships and sailed on the right side of Cyprus 



206 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



to Tyre. Here he remained for one week, and the disciples 
entreated him not to go to Jerusalem. He was set in his 
purpose and sailed on by Ptolemais to Csesarea, where he 
was entertained in the home of Philip the evangelist, whose 
four virgin daughters were prophetesses. Here Agabus 
symbolically predicted the binding of Paul in Jerusalem. 
But Paul resisted all entreaties and set out for Jerusalem. 
He was gladly received by the church here Next day he 
met James, the bishop of the church, who advised him, for 
the sake of the Jewish Christians, to take a vow with four 
Jewish disciples, and himself bear all the expenses. Paul 
agreed to do so, not as a compromise, but as a matter of 
expediency for cementing the two wings of Christianity. 

3. Paul Arrested. Toward the close of this vow of 
seven days some Asiatic Jews saw Paul in the temple and 
stirred up a mob by shouting : "This is the man that taught 
all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and the 
temple; and even brought Greeks into the temple to defile 
it." The mob seized Paul and dragged him out to kill him. 
The news was brought to the chiliarch, who came with a 
Roman legion and took Paul away, bound in two chains, 
while the mob shouted: "Away with him." 

4. Paul's Address to the Jewish People. Though a 
prisoner, Paul asked the chiliarch to let him address the 
people (21 127-22:30). The chiliarch, thinking he was a dis- 
turber of the peace, was loth to do so, but when Paul told 
him he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, he gave him permission. 
The burden of his address was his experience in conversion 
from a persecutor to a preacher of the gospel. The Jews 
listened until he came to the point of asserting his com- 
mission to the Gentiles and then they hissed him and 
shouted : "Away with him." 

5. Paul Saved From a Conspiracy. When the chili- 
arch learned that Paul was a Roman citizen he loosed him 
from the chains, but, in order to learn the charge against 
him, brought him down to the Sanhedrin, to whom Paul 
made an address (Acts 22:30-23:11), in which he shrewdly 
divided the council by asserting that as a Pharisee he be- 
lieved in the resurrection. The chiliarch took him away 



PHILIPPIANS AND PHILEMON 



207 



by force to the castle. His life was in danger in Jerusalem, 
for forty Jews had taken a vow to eat nothing until they 
had killed him. A nephew of Paul informed him of their 
conspiracy, and Paul sent this nephew, under guard of a 
centurion, to inform the chiliarch, who prepared soldiers 
to conduct Paul to Caesarea, where the Roman procurator 
lived. 

6. Paul Imprisoned in Caesarea. In five days the 
prosecuting attorney, Tertullus, brought Paul to trial be- 
fore Felix the procurator. He was charged with insurrec- 
tion, a grave charge at a Roman bar in those turbulent 
times, and with profanation of the temple. Paul denied 
the charges and told the Roman court that the real cause 
of his being on trial was his belief in the resurrection. 
Felix kept postponing a decision, until Festus succeeded 
him as procurator, and in about ten days Paul was tried 
again before him. But Festus, to win the favor of the 
Jews, a«ked Paul to go to Jerusalem for trial. This he 
refused to do and appealed to Caesar. Paul's case was also 
heard before King Agrippa II, who came to Caesarea to 
salute Festus as the new procurator. Festus hoped thus 
to find some definite charges against Paul to put in his 
letter to the emperor. Paul defended himself by relating 
his experience in conversion and preaching repentance and 
right living. When Paul appealed to Agrippa, the king 
sneered at his attempt to persuade him to be a Christian. 

7. Paul's Voyage to Rome. After a stormy voyage 
across the Mediterranean, Paul came to Rome and was 
met by the disciples from Rome on the Appian Road. In 
three days he sent for the chief Jews to explain to them 
the opposition of the Palestinian Jews to him. They dis- 
claimed the reception of letters from the Palestinian Jews 
to harm Paul, but requested him to speak for himself con- 
cerning the Christian sect which they had heard maligned 
everywhere. On a set day he discoursed to them on the 
kingdom and persuaded them concerning Jesus. Some 
of them accepted Christianity, but some remained hostile 
to Paul. He remained, not in a dungeon, but in his own 
private dwelling, under the guard of a Roman soldier for 



208 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



two whole years. The Roman authorities did not prevent 
his preaching, but gave him full freedom to receive sym- 
pathizers and preach the gospel to them (Acts 28:31). 

The Letters of the Imprisonment. 

There are a few New Testament scholars who think 
that this third group of Paul's letters were written in 
Csesarea. These letters bear ihe marks of his imprisonment 
somewhere, either in Csesarea or in Rome. The evidence 
seems to be conclusive, and so it is our conclusion; that 
the imprisonment letters, Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, 
and Ephesians, were written during the Apostle's imprison- 
ment in Rome. 

Philippians 

1. Its Occasion. The Apostle was now in chains in 
Rome (See 1 113-17 and 4:22, for internal evidence that the 
letter was written in Rome). The Apostle had kept in close 
touch with the church at Philippi through all the passing 
years. Twice the Philippians had sent him money to Thes- 
salonica (4:16)- and again to Corinth (4:16 and II Cor. 
11:9). He had probably visited them at least twice after 
writing the first letter to the Corinthians (II Cor. 7:5ff), 
and again on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem for the 
last time (Acts 20:6). 

Epaphroditus had brought a gift from the Philippians 
to Paul. He was very sick while in Rome, was even on 
the point of dying, but had now recovered sufficiently tc 
return to Philippi. Paul takes this occasion to write the 
letter to his favorite church and send it at the hands of 
Epaphroditus. 

2. The Purpose. The Apostle wrote this first letter 
of his imprisonment: (1) To pour out his nprsonal feel- 
ings and affections for the Christians in Philippi who had 
always proved loyal to him and his gospel, and who had 
recently sent him this gift as an expression of their love 
<tnd loyalty. (2) To warn them against the Judaizers and 
Anti-nomians. There seems not to have been any severe 
^ontest between these false teachers and the leaders of the 



PHILIPPIANS AND PHILEMON 



209 



church, who were loyal to Paul, but the Apostle thinks it 
wise to give them a few lines of admonition. 

T. The Date. Since this is probably the first letter 
written in the imprisonment of the Apostle, the date of 
composition would be placed at 62. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-11). 

1. Salutation (1:1, 2). 

2. Thanksgiving and prayer (1:3-11). 

II. Personal Matters and Exhortations (1:12-2:18). 

1. Some personal matters (1:12-26). 

2. Exhortation to live worthily amid persecutions (1:27-30). 

3. To live in humility and love after the example of Christ 

(2:1-11). 

4. General exhortations (2:12-18). 

III. Concerning Timothy and Epaphroditus and Paul's Hope to Visit 

Them (2:19-24). 

IV. Warning Against the Judaizers and Antinomians (3:2-4:1). 
1. Against the Judiazers (3:2-11). 

1. Against the Antinomians (3:12-21). 

3. A concluding exhortation, "Stand in the Lord" (4:1). 

V. Various Exhortations (4:2-9). 

1. To unity (4:2, 3). 

2. To joyfulness and trust (4:4-7). 

3. To various virtues (4:8, 9). 

VI. Sends Thanks for the Gift Received (4:10-20). 

VII. Conclusion: Salutations and Benedictions (4:21-23). 



The Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul and Timothy, bond-slaves of Christ, wish the 
church at Philippi, with its pastors and deacons, spiritual 
blessings and prosperity from the Father and the Lord 
Jesus Christ. I give thanks to Christ every time I remem- 
ber you, and in every prayer rejoice to think of you and 
your participation with me in the proclamation of the 
good news. I feel confident that God will continue the 
spiritual work which He began in you until the coming of 
Christ. It is most fitting for me thus to remember you, be- 
cause you have ever shared my bonds and helped me in 
defending the good news. I long to see you for Jesus' sake. 
My special prayer for you is that you may increase more 
and more in your spiritual insight into truth, so that you 
may be able to approve the things that are morally excel- 
lent; that you may be sincere and influential until the com- 



210 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



ing of Christ, by being filled with the fruits of right living 
for the glory of God through Jesus Christ. 

I assure you that the sufferings which have befallen 
me in Csesarea and Rome have resulted in the progress of 
the good news. The message has been heard by the praetor- 
ian guard, and my patient suffering has emboldened others 
to preach the good news. It is true that some preach it in 
pretense to increase my sorrows, but I rejoice that Christ 
is preached. Even this suffering from false brethren shall 
contribute to my welfare through your prayers. For I 
mean to magnifv Christ, whether I am released or put 
to death by Nero, for my purpose is to live the Christ life. 
I am not exactly certain what shall be the issue of my trial, 
but I prefer to go and be with Christ in the spirit, although 
remaining on earth will be more profitable to you. How- 
ever, I feel confident that I shall be released, that you may 
continue to rejoice in me. Live lives worthy of the good 
news. Live in peace and stand for the faith, for if you waver 
not you are spiritually safe, though your enemies are 
doomed to perdition. Your highest privilege is not to be- 
lieve in, but to suffer for, Christ. This is my experience 
(chap. i). 

If there is any persuasive power in the good news, make 
me happy by living in unity, humility, love, and unselfish- 
ness. Follow the example of Christ who, although He was 
equal with the Father, emptied Himself of heavenly glory 
by becoming a human servant and, since He was like a 
man in outward appearance, became obedient unto the 
death of the cross. Humility leads to exaltation, for the 
Father gave Him the name above every other name. 

So, my beloved, I entreat you to be loyal Christians 
in my absence and work out with a modest reserve, even 
to the finishing point, your spiritual transformation, for 
God is working in you to accomplish this end. Murmur 
not and question not in all your activities, but prove your- 
selves to be living like God, your Father, as lights to lighten 
the darkened souls of this crooked generation. If you live 
thus my career will not be in vain, and though I die as 
a sacrifice for your spiritual progress, I shall rejoice. 



PHILIPPIANS AND PHILEMON 



211 



I hope to send Timothy, who does not, like others, 
seek his own interest, but who loves me as a son his father, 
to ascertain your spiritual condition. I myself am coming 
shortly. I send also Epaphroditus, who was not only home- 
sick to see you, but was really sick nigh unto death for 
Christ's sake. But God restored him to health for my sake, 
as well as his, to increase your joys and lessen my sorrows 
(chap. 2). 

Beware of the Judaizers who make so much of cir- 
cumcision. They are not the real circumcision but are 
mere flesh-cutters. We are the real circumcision, who 
live spiritual lives and boast only in Christ as our hope of 
deliverance from sin. Although I might have gloried in 
my natural privileges and achievements, my pure Hebrew 
blood, and my being as loyal a Pharisee as ever lived, I 
despised these advantages as refuse beneath my feet, to win 
the excellent experimental knowledge of Christ, that I 
might come into right relation with God. Yea, I long to 
have an experimental knowledge of the transforming power 
of His death and resurrection. I have not lived up to the 
mark I long to reach, but I am stretching every power of 
my soul to reach the goal of moral, spiritual excellence, up- 
ward to which the divine calling beckons me. Let us as 
mature Christians have this spiritual ambition. If you are 
not thus mature Christians, cultivate this spiritual ambition. 
If you are not thus mature in your ideals, God will show 
you how to reach this state of maturity. 

In your living follow me and not the Anti-nomians, 
the enemies of the cross, who are spiritual anarchists and 
live to gratify their carnal senses. For our citizenship is 
in heaven, and so we must live as heavenly citizens looking 
for Christ who has power to change our body of lowly suf- 
ferings into one of glory similar to His own (chap. 3). 

For this reason, my brothers, beloved and longed for, 
my joy and my crown, stand firm. Let Euodia and Syn- 
teche, two leading women in the church, be reconciled. 
Help the women who labored with me and my fellow- 
workers, whose names are enrolled in heaven. Rejoice with- 
out ceasing. Be patient toward all. The Lord is at the 



212 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



door. Worry not but tell God your needs. And the quiet 
of soul which God gives and which is beyond comprehen- 
sion, like a sentinel, shall guard your heads and hearts. Be 
careful about your thoughts; think only of things that are 
true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, reputable, virtuous, and 
praiseworthy. 

I rejoice that you sent me the gift as a reminder of 
your love for me. I did not need your help, for I have 
learned the secret of contentment in whatever state I am; 
but the gift you sent by Epaphroditus is an acceptable sac- 
rifice to God. My God shall supply your every need ac- 
cording to His glorious resources through Christ Jesus. 
Unto the Father be glory forever. Amen. 

Greet every saint. The brothers with me, including 
those of Caesar's household, greet you. The spiritual bless- 
ings of the Lord Jesus be on you. 

Philemon 

1. Its Occasion. The slave Onesimus had run away 
from his master Philemon. He had come to Rome, heard 
the gospel from Paul, and had been converted. Paul was 
planning to return this runaway slave to his master, who 
was a special friend to Paul. 

2. The Purpose. Paul wrote this letter: (i) To ask 
Philemon to forgive Onesimus and receive him back as a 
brother in Christ Jesus. The Apostle feels that Onesimus 
is not only the slave but also the brother of Philemon. 
Philemon had doubtless been grieved over the conduct of 
Onesimus in running away, and Paul in this letter seeks 
to set all things right between Onesimus, the returning 
slave, and Philemon, his master. (2) To engage a room 
in Philemon's house for himself on a visit which he is con- 
templating in the future. We here see the glorious optim- 
ism of Paul and his fine faith in God's providence to set 
him free from Roman chains. 

3. The Date. It is almost certain that Paul wrote 
this letter at the same time he wrote Philippians — in the 
year 62 or 63. 



PHILIPPIANS AND PHILEMON 



213 



General Outline 

I. Salutation (1-3). 
II. Thanksgiving for Philemon's Faith and Love (4-7). 

III. Request That Philemon Receive Onesimus as a Brother (8-17). 

IV. Philemon to Do This for Paul's Sake (18-20). 

V. Engaging a Room in Philemon's Home For His Future Visit 

(21-22). 

VI. Conclusion: Salutations and Benediction (23-25). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our 
brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow-worker, to Apphia, 
to Archippus, and to the church in your house, wish spir- 
itual blessings and prosperity from the Father and from 
the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God for your 
faith and love as expressed in helping and refreshing the 
saints. 

For this reason, though I have authority in Christ to 
command you in this matter, yet for love's sake, I, the 
gray-haired Paul, the prisoner of Christ, plead for my new 
spiritual child, Onesimus, your runaway slave. Him I 
am now sending back to you, not unprofitable as once he 
was, but, which his name signifies, really "profitable." He 
is so dear to me I would like to keep him to minister to me 
in my bonds, but I could not do it without your consent. 
This temporary separation of your slave from you was in- 
tended by God to bring him back to you as a brother be- 
loved forever. Receive him as in my stead. If he wronged 
you I will make it good, although you are in debt to me 
as my spiritual child. Because of my great faith in you 
to do more than I ask, I now speak for a room in your 
house when I am released and come to Colossse. Epa- 
phras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke greet you. The 
spiritual blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ be on you. 
Amen. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



COLOSSIANS. 

It must be conceded at the beginning of our discus- 
sion of this third letter of the imprisonment period that it 
stands out separate and distinct from all the rest of the 
letters. Yet there is a marked kinship between Colossians 
and Ephesians. 

i. Its Occasion. Epaphras had come from Colossae 
and told Paul of the love of the Colossians for him. It 
seems that Paul had never visited Colossae, but had merely 
sent out members of his missionary group to evangelize 
that city and found a church there. But the Colossian 
Christians looked upon Paul as the authoritative leader of 
the missionary group, and not only so, but they also seem 
to have had tender feelings for the Apostle. Paul had also 
heard that certain false doctrines were threatening to under- 
mine Christianity at Colossae. It is not definitely known 
whether Epaphras or some one else reported these false 
teachings to Paul. It is more than probable that Epaphras, 
in describing the affection and loyalty of the Colossian 
Christians, also commented upon the pernicious false teach- 
ings in vogue in that community. As to the nature of these 
false teachings, New Testament scholars are not agreed. 
Zahn (Intro.) thinks it is an extreme Judaistic heresy; 
Lightfoot (Com.) and some German scholars regard Es- 
senism as a possible source of the heresy. But we, along 
with most New Testament scholars, think that it is Gnostic 
tendencies that are menacing the progress of Christianity 
in Colossae. 

As to the exact phase of Gnosticism which is being 
pressed in Colossae, the letter to the Colossians itself would 
suggest to us that it is the doctrine of the aeons, or eman- 
ations, and Christ's relation to them and to the human 
race. Paul is discussing more elaborately in this letter than 
anywhere else the doctrine of the person and work of 
Christ. This would suggest that the Gnostics were teach- 
ing in Colossae the necessity of a long line of intermediary 



COLOSSIANS 



215 



beings between God and men. They derogated from the 
dignity and glory of Christ by allowing some of these inter- 
mediary beings to take the place and do the work of Christ. 
Hence their system was a direct thrust at the very vitals 
of Pauline Christianity. It is the presence of these false 
doctrines in Colossae, and the apprehension that the people 
of Colossse and its community might be led to entertain 
these degrading ideas concerning the person and work of 
Christ, that led Paul to write this unique letter to the 
church in Colossse. 

2. The Purpose. Therefore, he wrote: (i) To ex- 
press his personal interest in the Colossian Christians. He 
wanted to impress them that, although he had never seen 
their faces, still he was deeply interested in the progress 
of the gospel in their city. He loves all men who love his 
Christ and are loyal to his gospel. (2) But perhaps the 
strongest incentive to the writing of the letter was his 
purpose to deal with the false teachings at Colossse. He 
knows that Christ is the core of Christianitv, and that if 
He is robbed of His personal glory, and if the work of 
Christ is minimized, Christianity itself must be in peril. So 
he writes to set forth the glorious personality of Christ as 
the Son of God, who existed before all creation, who was 
the medium through whom the Father created the universe 
itself, who was the "fullness" of the divine character it- 
self, who is the medium of the world's preservation, the 
head of the church and of the whole scheme of reconcilia- 
tion in the moral and spiritual universe. He does not write 
simply in the negative to destroy the doctrines of the 
Gnostics, but with the positive purpose of describing the 
glorious, unique personality of Jesus Christ and His splen- 
did work in redeeming man and in the reconciliation of 
the spiritual universe. 

It is to be noted that Paul gives us in this letter the 
most elaborate discussion of the person and work of Christ 
found in all his letters. He gives us one paragraph on the 
same subject in Philippians, and also discusses the same 
subject in Ephesians, but not so elaborately. 

(3) The Apostle also writes to show how a well- 
rounded Christian life is based on one's true relation to 



216 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

Christ. After using about half of the space of his letter 
to describing the doctrines of the person and work of Christ, 
he devotes the latter half to a somewhat detailed discus- 
sion of the well-rounded moral living of the Christian. 
There can be no doubt that the Apostle is designing to 
set forth the vital connection of such moral living with a 
genuine personal faith in the doctrine of the person and 
work of Christ. See Colossians 3:1, 5, 12, where Paul 
uses an inferential particle, "then" or "therefore," to tie his 
exhortations to moral living onto his discussion of the 
great doctrines as found in the first two chapters. 

3. The Pauline Authorship. Long ago Baur and the 
Tubingen school doubted the genuineness of Colossians. 
A few other modern scholars also question the Pauline 
authorship of this letter. The principal objections against 
the Pauline authorship are as follows : 

(1) It is urged that the heresy implied in this letter 
belongs to the post-apostolic period. But it can be replied 
to this objection that it is a historical fact admitted by 
most New Testament scholars, and by noted church his- 
torians, that Gnosticism existed even before the period 
of the imprisonment epistles. Harnack has clearly shown 
that there was a Jewish Gnosticism before there existed a 
Christian Gnosticism. Therefore, the presence of Gnostic 
tendencies in Colossae, as suggested by this letter to the 
church there, does not preclude the writing of this letter 
by Paul in the seventh decade of the First Century. If 
its insidious doctrines were only revealing themselves in 
their incipiency, the keen eye of a Paul could see the dire 
consequences of such teachings if left uncondemned. 

(2) It is also urged against the Pauline authorship 
that there are differences in its vocabulary and general 
phraseology. It must be admitted that there are some new 
terms employed by the Apostle in this letter. There are 
also a few compound words which occur nowhere else in 
his writings ; a few also which occur but seldom in his 
other letters. But this cannot be pressed against the Paul- 
ine authorship. The circumstances under which he was 
writing, the special heretical tendencies which he was cor- 



COLOSSIANS 



217 



recting, and the great theme of the person and work of 
Christ which he is elaborating, would largely explain the 
use of these new terms and phrases in this letter. It must 
be noted that many of these new words "mystery/' "full- 
ness," etc., belong to the vocabulary of the Gnostics. This 
itself shows that Paul is familiar with their system, and 
his purpose to answer them would account for his use of 
these terms in his description of the glorious personality and 
work of Christ. 

(3) The differences of style between Colossians and 
Paul's earlier letters have been urged by some as an argu- 
ment against the Pauline authorship. It must be admitted 
that the style of Colossians is different from that in the 
previous letters. There is a slow, heavy movement of the 
thought from sentence to sentence, while Paul usually 
rushes from proposition to proposition. But in reply to 
this objection it may be said that Paul has more leisure 
for composition now that he is shut in as a prisoner. We 
would naturallv expect him to manifest rather a studied 
style than the rapid, vigorous style of the missionary in 
the thick of the fight on the field. The exalted theme 
which he is specially elaborating, namely, the person and 
work of Christ as set over against the fallacious teaching 
on the seons, also helps to explain the ponderous, creeping 
style found in this epistle, as over against the vigorous, 
rushing style found in most of Paul's letters. 

On the other hand, it must be acknowledged by all 
New Testament scholars that the external evidence is de- 
cidedly in favor of the Pauline authorship of this letter. 
Marcion included it in his canon, and this inclusion itself 
argues for its Pauline authorship. It is also mentioned in 
the Muratorian canon and by Irenseus. It is probable that 
Justin Martyr and Theophilus, and possibly some of the 
apostolic fathers, also refer to Colossians as included among 
the Pauline letters. Therefore, since the external evidence 
is all in favor of the Pauline authorship, and the internal 
evidence need not be construed against the Pauline author- 
ship, our conclusion is that Colossians must be reckoned 
as a genuine Pauline letter. 



218 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



4. The Date. If the Pauline authorship is accepted 
as above, we must date Colossians not long after Philip- 
pians. It seems likely that Philemon and Colossians were 
written about the same time, since both were sent by the 
same messenger and to the same city (Philem. 10, 13; Col. 
4:7-9). The date is 62 or 63. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1, 2). 
II. Personal Portion (1:3-2:5). 

1. His thanksgiving- for their faith and love (1:3-8). 

2. His prayer for them (1:9-12). 

3. His prayer passing- into a description of the nature and 
work of Christ (1:13-23). 

(a) As Creator. 

(b) As Redeemer. 

(c) As Sustainer of the universe. 

(d) As Head of the church 

4. Paul's suffering, preaching and toiling (1:24-29). 

5. His interest in the Colossians (2:1-5). 

III. The Monitory Portion (2:6-3:4). 

1. Warning against various false teachings (2:6-19). 

2. Warning based on the union with the death and resurrec- 
tion of Christ (2:20-3:4). 

IV. Hortitory Portion (3:5-4:6). 

1. Put away the sins of the old nature (3:5-11). 

2. Put on the graces of the new man (3:12-17). 

3. Domestic relations (3:18-4:1). 

(a) Wives and husbands (3:18, 19). 

(b) Parents and children (3:20, 21). 

(c) Masters and servants (3:22-4:1). 

4. Various exhortations: To prayer, watching, thanksgiving, 
proper use of time, right talking, etc. (4:2-6). 

V Conclusion (4:7-18). 

1. Sends Tychicus and Onesimus (4:7-9). 

2. Salutations from those with him (4:10-14). 

3. Salutations to brothers at Colossse and instructions as to 
the reading of his letters (4:15-17). 

4. Signature and benediction (4:18). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, a divinely appointed apostle, and Timothy, to 
the saints and brothers at Colossse, wish spiritual blessings 
and prosperity from the Father. In our ceaseless prayers 
for you we give thanks to the Father for your faith in His 
Son Jesus Christ, for your love toward all, which is based 
on your hope of future blessings promised you in the good 
news and declared unto you by Epaphras, a faithful min- 
ister of Christ, through whom also we learned of your 
love. 

For this cause, ever since we heard these things of 
you, we have not ceased to pray that you may have by ex- 



COLOSSIANS 



219 



perience a deeper insight into spiritual truths ; that you 
may live worthily of the Lord and bear the fruits of endur- 
ance, long-suffering, and joy, by means of the spiritual 
power that is in you. AYe should especially give thanks 
for what God has done for us through the Son of His love, 
who purchased us from the bondage of sin and secured 
our forgiveness ; who is the exact representation of the un- 
seen God ; who existed before all creation ; who indeed was 
the medium through whom the Father created all things 
and through whom He upholds the universe ; w r ho is also 
the supreme authority over the church in all matters, that 
every Christian might make Him first in all things. Yea, 
the Father was delighted to share with the Son His per- 
fect divine character and power, and through Him by means 
of His death, to bring the heavenly and earthly inhabitants 
into fellowship with God and one another. Although you 
were once out of fellowship with God, because of your evil 
works, yet now in Christ you are in fellowship with the 
Father, and bye-and-bye shall be presented blameless, if 
you continue in the faith of the good news which you first 
received. 

I rejoice that I can suffer for Christ and so comple- 
ment His sufferings for men as to lead them to believe in 
His sufferings and thus apply their saving efficacy to them- 
selves ; that I can preach to the Gentiles the mystery of 
His forgiving love, the divine philosophy of the ages, con- 
cealed in the times past but now disclosed in Christ (chap. 

i). 

I write this to let you know how keen is my interest 
in you and all the Gentiles, whom I have not seen face to 
face. I long for you to share the spiritual knowledge of 
the mystery of God's universal love ; that you may find 
comfort therein and realize a beautiful brotherhood in 
Christian love. I urge this, lest some shrewd, false teacher 
may deceive you. Therefore, continue to live in faith in 
Christ and in thanksgiving to Him. 

Because of the Gnostic teachers, who are teaching 
among you that Christ is only a superior medium of com- 
munication between God and man, whereas He is your 



220 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



almighty Deliverer and you find your spiritual and moral 
completeness in Him, I admonish you. Your baptism pic- 
tures your death to the life of sin and your resurrection 
with Christ to live a beautiful, spiritual life. 

Let no false teacher deceive you in the matter of eating 
or drinking or observing feast days. The Church is Christ's 
body, and therefore He is its Head, so you should not let 
these false teachers rob you of your spiritual prize by en- 
ticing you to worship creatures, though they be angels, 
and so sever yourself from Christ the Head, who supplies 
to the members spiritual strength and unity. Since you 
are in fellowship with Christ and so died with Him to your 
sinful past, why do you submit to human ordinances and 
torture your bodies? Asceticism is no curb on the lower 
appetites and passions (chapter 2). 

Since you are alive with Christ in a new life, seek the 
things of the spiritual realm and live the life of the heavenly 
citizen, for you have passed out of active relations with the 
evil ways of the world, and your spiritual life is rooted in 
Christ. When He shall be manifested in glory at His sec- 
ond coming, then shall you shine in spiritual splendor. For 
this reason you ought to lay aside, as a garment, the sins 
of the old life, fornication, impurity, passions, covetous- 
ness (which is idolatry), anger, malice, lying, indecent 
speech, and live a new life in Christ. I urge this on you 
Gentiles, because all nationalities are on the same footing 
before God. 

Put on, as a new garment, the graces of the new life, 
compassion, humility, gentleness, patience, love, forgive- 
ness, and as a consequence, the quiet of soul which Christ 
gives you shall rule in your hearts. Be thankful, know and 
love and live the word of God ; teach one another and sing 
together psalms and spiritual hymns, making melody in 
your hearts in praise to God. Do all things as unto God, 
and give thanks to the Father through Christ. 

Wives, lovingly submit to your husbands. Husbands, 
be loving and tender with your wives. Children, do every- 
thing your parents command you, for this is pleasing to 
God. Fathers and mothers, deal with your children in 



COLOSSIANS 



221 



such a way that they may not become soured in disposition 
and discouraged in life. Servants, in sincerity render every 
service to your earthly masters, for thus you serve Christ 
your Master and shall receive from Him the rewards of 
your good deeds (chap. 3). Masters, be fair with your 
servants, for you have a Master in heaven to whom you are 
responsible. 

Watch with thanksgiving and pray without ceasing, es- 
pecially for me that I may have an open door of oppor- 
tunity for preaching the good news as I ought. Be cau- 
tious in dealing with non-Christian men. Buy up the time 
for doing good. Let your speech be salted with kindness, 
so as to answer properly every man. 

Tychicus, a brother minister, and Onesimus, the con- 
verted slave, now a faithful and beloved brother, one of 
your townsmen, I send to report to you our affairs. 

Aristarchus, Mark, Justus, Epaphras, Luke, Demas, 
greet you. Greet the brothers in Laodicea ; also Nymphas 
and the church in her house. Let the Laodiceans read this 
letter, and you read mine to them. Charge Archippus, a 
preacher in your church, to take heed to fill his ministry 
with the service of love. 

Greetings with my own signature. Remember the aged 
prisoner. Heaven's blessings be on you. 



CHAPTER XXIV 



EPHESIANS 

As intimated in the previous chapter, this letter shows 
some kinship to the preceding one. Still the letter to the 
Ephesians is more elaborate and comprehensive than Col- 
ossians. There are even more problems connected with this 
letter than with the previous one. Let us patiently and 
candidly consider them. 

1. Its Occasion. This is the last of the letters from 
the pen of the Apostle during his Roman imprisonment. 
The letter is so general in its nature that it is impossible 
to find out the exact occasion which called it forth. It is 
likely that the existence of the Gnostic tendencies in the 
Roman province of Asia, as well as in the immediate vicin- 
ity of Colossae, constitutes a part of the general circum- 
stances calling forth this profound doctrinal letter. 

2. The Purpose. There are three possible lines of 
design running through the letter: (i) To show that sal- 
tation is obtained only in Christ Jesus. The Apostle does 
not dwell so much on the person of Christ in this letter as 
in Colossians. His emphasis is rather on the work of sal- 
vation. The Apostle's favorite expression, "in Christ," or 
"in Him," is used more often to the page in the letter to the 
Ephesians than in any other portion of the Pauline let- 
ters. His great doctrine of salvation by grace also receives 
special emphasis in this letter. There can be little doubt 
that Paul, in this last of his great doctrinal letters, is show- 
ing how the whole plan and operation of grace are centered 
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Salvation is traced back 
ultimately to God's love (2:4). His grace is the effecting 
cause of salvation, while Jesus Christ is the medium through 
whom salvation is brought to men (2 4-8). (2) To emphasize 
the continued fellowship of the believer with Christ and 
the general fellowship of all believers with one another. 
It is in this letter that the Apostle emphasizes not only the 
reconciliation of men to God, but also of the Jews and the 
Gentiles, in one comprehensive brotherhood. His second 



EPHESIANS 



223 



chapter in this letter gives the Apostle's teachings on the 
universal brotherhood of man as nowhere else in all his 
writings. The cross is not only the means of reconciling 
men to God, but also the means of reconciling the various 
nationalities to one another and thus producing a beautiful 
Christian brotherhood. (3) To show how the well-rounded 
moral and spiritual life is based on the doctrines of grace 
as mediated through Christ Jesus. Just as we saw the 
Apostle tying the practical portion of Colossians onto the 
doctrinal portion, by the use of the particle "then" or "there- 
fore," so we see the same connection in Ephesians (See 
3:14; 5:1; 17, 25; 5:1). The Apostle wishes to show his 
general readers that the highest moral living depends upon 
the reception of Christ and the acceptance of the great doc- 
trines of grace mediated through Him. 

3. Its Destination. It is fairly well agreed upon in 
the world of modern New Testament scholarship that this 
letter is a general circular letter. The best manuscripts 
omit the phrase, "at Ephesus," in 1:1. Not only does the 
manuscript evidence stand against the position that the 
letter was addressed to the church in Ephesus, but also the 
general tone of the epistle is evidence against the local des- 
tination of the letter. There is scarcely a local hint any- 
where in the letter that it was intended only for the church 
in Ephesus. The most reasonable conclusion is that Paul 
addressed this letter to all the churches of the province of 
Asia. It is probable that he intended the church in the 
capital city, Ephesus, to read the letter first and then pass 
it on to the other churches of the province. 

4. The Pauline Authorship. Quite a number of New 
Testament scholars place Ephesians, along with Colossians, 
in the list of the questionable writings of Paul. But it must 
be conceded that the external evidence is all in favor of the 
Pauline authorship. The letter seems to have been used 
by Ignatius and Polycarp ; also by the Shepherd of Hermas. 
Marcion also included it in his canon, which shows that 
he regarded it as Pauline. It is quoted as Paul's by Iren- 
aeus and the later writers. Moreover, if First Peter is the 
production of the Apostle Peter, and if Peter had read the 



224 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



letter to the Ephesians as a number of extreme critics con- 
tend, the letter to the Ephesians must have been produced 
before the beheading of the Apostle Paul. According to a 
reference in the letter of Clement of Rome to Corinth (chap- 
ter 5) the two apostles were put to death about the same 
time. 

But the arguments against the Pauline authorship are 
taken from the internal evidence. Some of these arguments 
are just the same as those urged against the Pauline author- 
ship of Colossians. (1) One of the strongest arguments is 
that of the style of Ephesians. The sentences are long and 
involved, while Paul's sentences usually are short and vig- 
orous. The first paragraph in Ephesians, after the saluta- 
tion, is the longest sentence in the New Testament. This 
one sentence includes twelve verses (3-14). But we have 
the same reply to this objection that we made in the last 
chapter, concerning Colossians. Paul has more leisure, and 
is not in the rushing spirit of the missionary in the thick 
of the fight on the field. The majestic theme of the divine 
purpose and grace, as unfolded in the plan of salvation, also 
contributes to the stateliness of the style. 

(2) The teachings of the letter are also said to be dif- 
ferent from those of the unquestioned letters of Paul. It 
is urged that redemption is assigned to Christ rather than 
to God; that reconciliation united Jews and Gentiles, as 
well as God and men ; that the second coming is postponed 
to a later age ; that the doctrine of the church is more gen- 
eral than local. In reply to the position that these differ- 
ences demand a different author, we would say that Paul, 
during this period of his theological thinking, is making 
prominent the person and work of Christ, and this would 
account for his ascription of redemption to Christ rather 
than to the Father. The false teachings of the Gnostics 
are in the air, and to the Asiatic churches he feels he must 
emphasize the conspicuous place filled by Christ in the plan 
of redemption. As to reconciliation he does refer the idea 
to the double relation, Jews to Gentiles, God to men. But 
the idea of reconciling the two wings of the human race, 
as expressed in these two terms, is found in the Corinthian 



EPHESIANS 



225 



letters, and possibly in the letters to the Galatians and Ro- 
mans. (See especially Romans, chapter n, II Cor., chap- 
ter 5, I Cor. i :3off.) As to Paul's deferring the second 
coming of Christ, it may be replied that the passage which 
speaks of the ages to come (2 7) may refer to the ages 
after the second coming, instead of the future generations 
preceding that event. As to the doctrine of the church, it 
must be conceded that Paul does discuss the institutional 
rather than the local idea of the church, in this letter; 
but this is easily explained on the ground that it is a gen- 
eral and not a local letter. 

(3) The writer seems to associate himself with the 
older apostles, in the revelation of the gospel of grace, when 
he refers to "the holy apostles and prophets" (3 15, 6). This 
objection would imply that there is necessarily a schism 
between Paul and the older apostles. The facts in the his- 
tory of the apostolic age are rather against this supposition. 
There is not a hint at any differences of theological con- 
ceptions as between Paul and the rest of the apostles after 
the episode in Antioch, where Paul took Peter to task be- 
fore the church concerning his position on the question of 
circumcision. Peter's first letter is evidence that he learned 
well the lessons which Paul taught him on that occasion. 
The Pauline type of Christianity prevailed, and there was 
no real schism between him and the other apostles from 
that time on. 

4. The relation of this letter to Colossians is also 
urged against its genuineness. De Wette long ago stig- 
matized Ephesians as a "diffused expansion of Colossians," 
and denied its unity, on the ground that the polemic against 
the false teachers has been omitted. In reply to this ob- 
jection, we would say that there is a marked unity in this 
profound and comprehensive letter. And the fact that it 
was written just a short time after Colossians would ex- 
plain the elaboration of many points already discussed in 
Colossians. The letter to the Romans is an expansion of 
the letter to the Galatians, but no one would urge that for 
that reason Paul is not the author of Romans. 

5. The Date. If Paul be the author, as indicated 



226 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



above, this last of the imprisonment letters must have 
been composed towards the close of the two years' impris- 
onment in Rome. This would place the date in the year 63. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1-2). 
II. The Doctrinal Portion (1:3-3:21). 

1. Thanksgiving to God for election by the Father, redepmtion 
in Christ, and sealing by the Holy Spirit (1:3-14). 

2. Thanksgiving for spiritual state of the readers with a prayer 
for their deeper spiritual knowledge (1:15-19). 

3. A formal statement of God's power in Christ (1:20-2:22). 

(a) As to Christ Himself the Father brought about His res- 
rurection, ascension, universal and ecclesiastical head- 
ship (1:20-23). 

(b) As to individuals, their spiritual resurrection and as- 
cension in union with Christ (2:1-10). 

(c) With respect to all mankind, reconciliation and broth- 
erhood (2:11-22). 

4. Paul's personal relation to his readers (3:1-21). 

(a) His authority to preach the mystery of the gospel 
(3:1-13). 

(b) His prayer for their spiritual strength (3:14-21). 

(c) He closes these great teachings with a doxology 
(3:20-21). 

IV. The Hortatory Portion (4:1-6:20). 

1. To the church as a whole (4:1-5:22). 

(a) To live a life worthy of the unity of the church (4:1-16). 

(b) To live a life different from the old Gentile life (4:17-24). 

(c) To practice certain virtues and avoid certain vices 
(4:25-5:21). 

2. To the various classes (5:22-6:9). 

(a) The duties of wives and husbands (5:22-33). 

(b) The duties of children and parents (6:1-4). 

(c) Duties of slaves and masters (6:5-9). 

3. To the whole church again (6:10-20). 

(a) The Christian life a spiritual warfare (6:10-12). 

(b) Christian soldier's armor (6:13-18). 

(c) A request that the church pray for the Apostle to preach 
the gospel as he ought (6:19-20). 

V. Conclusion (6:21-24). 

1. Sends Tychicus (6:21-22). 

2. Salutation and benediction (6:23, 24). 

The Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, a divinely appointed apostle of Christ Jesus, to 
the saints and faithful ones, wishes spiritual blessings and 
prosperity. 

Let the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised, 
who has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly 
realms in Christ, because He had selected us in Him be- 
fore He had created the universe, that we should be pure 
and spotless in love. 

Yes, He had, before His selection, marked us off as 



EPHESIANS 



227 



His own through Jesus Christ, according to His own will, 
to the praise of His reclaiming love freely expressed in the 
gift of His beloved Son. 

Through the death of the Son we have been purchased 
from the bondage of sin and have received the forgiveness 
of our sins, according to the riches of His reclaiming love, 
which is the disclosed mystery of the good news. The pur- 
pose of disclosing this mystery of reclaiming love in Christ 
was to make the Son the center and the medium of the 
economy of divine love, the unifying force of heaven and 
earth, that we reclaimed ones should show forth His lim- 
itless love. You have received the good news, and since 
you are delivered from sin you are also sealed as God's 
own, with the Holy Spirit, who stamped the divine image 
on your souls. 

Since I heard of your faith and love I have not ceased 
to thank God for you and to pray that you may have a 
keen experimental knowledge of Christ, so that you may 
know the brilliant hope given by His selecting love, how 
rich an inheritance God has in His saints, and how great is 
His keeping power for those He loves, a power whose meas- 
ure must be taken in the resurrection of Christ and in the 
exaltation of Him above every other name, to be the Head 
of the church (chap. i). 

Although you Gentiles were once out of fellowship 
with God because of your evil works and were dominated 
by Satan, the prince of the world of evil, just as we Jews 
were once by nature children of disobedience, yet are we 
both now, on account of the riches of God's reclaiming love, 
in fellowship with Christ, and sit with Him in the heavenly 
realms. God has thus bestowed on us His wonderful love, 
that we might, by deeds of love, publish it to the coming 
ages. 

For this reason, call to mind your wretched state of 
alienation from the citizenship of the chosen people, yea, 
from God Himself; but now by the cross of Christ you are 
in fellowship with God and fellow-citizens with us trusting 
Jews and members of the same spiritual family. The cross 



228 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



is the basis of this international peace and universal broth- 
erhood (chap. 2). 

For this reason I pray for you — but before I express 
the prayer let me remind you of my ministry of the mys- 
tery of God's reclaiming love, once concealed in ages past 
but now disclosed in Christ, conferred upon me that I might 
proclaim to the Gentiles the unspeakable love of Christ 
and the Father's resourceful wisdom and power in Christ 
for reclaiming the lost. Yes, I pray to the Father in heaven, 
whose fatherhood is the pattern of every family relation 
in heaven and on earth, that you may receive mighty spir- 
itual power in your spirits, by the indwelling of Christ, 
and that you may know by experience the unlimited bounds 
of His reclaiming love. To Him who has limitless re- 
sources to answer our prayers far beyond even our ability 
to imagine, be praise forever, through Christ, by the ac- 
tivities of the church (chap. 3). 

Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you as 
united Christians to walk worthy of your heavenly citizen- 
ship, in lowliness, gentleness, patience, love, and, above 
all, in a beautiful unity, which is brought about by using 
co-operatively all your spiritual gifts which the ascended 
Christ confers upon His church. The purpose of thus liv- 
ing and co-operating is the development of well-rounded 
character in the saints and the edification of the church, 
so that at last we shall attain unto perfect spiritual man- 
hood, and the likeness of Christ Himself. Therefore, I 
exhort you to lay aside forever the deeds of your former 
Gentile life, the life which you lived when you did not know 
God, when your hearts were hardened in sin, and you had 
not learned the truth in Christ. Lay aside, like an old gar- 
ment, the old life and put on, like a clean garment, the 
new life. Lay aside fornication, impurity, bitterness, strife, 
covetousness, foolish talking, and jesting. Practice kind- 
ness, compassion, as God had compassion on you, forgiving 
one another's faults, as Christ also for gave you. Put off 
the deeds of darkness, for now you are children of light 
and should live in the open. Arise from the dead of your 
moral past and let Christ shine from your lives. Buy up 



EPHESIANS 



229 



the time for doing good. Stop being intoxicated with wine 
but be filled with the transforming power of the Spirit, 
that you may sing together from the heart the spiritual 
songs of thanksgiving (4:1-5:21). 

Let the wives be subject to their husbands, just as the 
church acknowledges the lordship of Christ. Let the hus- 
bands love their wives, for the wife is a part of the hus- 
band's own body, as Christ loved the church and gave 
Himself to purchase, cleanse, and beautify it. Children, 
obey your parents for Christ's sake, for this is right and has 
the promise of divine blessing on it. Fathers, be not bit- 
ter against your children, but train and admonish them in 
Christian living. Let slaves render faithful service to their 
earthly masters, not merely to please them, but also to do 
the will of God in the common duties of life. Let masters 
not harshly threaten their slaves, but be faithful to them, 
remembering that they have a Master in heaven, and that 
God does not respect their lordly circumstances (5:22-6:9). 

Finally, be strong and brave soldiers of Jesus Christ, 
for your spiritual life is a campaign against the mighty 
hosts of the evil spirit-world. Therefore, put on the armor 
of spiritual soldiers, the girdle of truth, the breastplate of 
righteousness, as shoes for your bleeding feet the prepara- 
tion of the good news, for bringing peace out of the conflict, 
over all the shield of confidence, as a helmet the hope of 
final conquest, the sword of the divine word, and ceaseless 
prayer, with watching and thanksgiving (6:10-20). 

To comfort your hearts about my conditions in prison, 
I send Tychicus. Prosperity to the brothers. With love 
and confidence from the Father and from the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Spiritual blessings on all them that love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in purity (6:21-24). 



CHAPTER XXV 



FIRST TIMOTHY 

We now come to the last group of the Pauline let- 
ters, First Timothy, Titus, and Second Timothy. But be- 
fore considering the literary features of these last letters 
from the Apostle's pen, we must stop to consider a prob- 
lem connected with his late history. 

Paul's Release 

Many New Testament scholars, including Conybeare 
and Howson, Lightfoot, Schiirer, Harnack, Burton, Ram- 
say, and many others of equal reputation, hold that the 
Apostle was released from his Roman imprisonment at 
the end of two years. Many others, among them McGif- 
fert, History of the Apostolic Age, think that the Apostle 
was not released, but met his end during the first Roman 
imprisonment. Wendt thinks it is probable that he was 
not released. Those scholars who believe in the release 
of the Apostle think that he went on a fourth missionary 
journey afterward, possibly evangelizing as far westward 
as Spain. This last journey of the Apostle is not described 
in the book of Acts. But it is possible for us to reproduce 
that journey from the references in the pastoral epistles, 
with a few references in Romans, Philippians, and Phile- 
mon. 

Fourth Missionary Journey Outlined 

It is probable that if the Apostle made this fourth 
journey he visited the following places: On being released 
he revisited Asia and Macedonia, according to Philemon 
22 and Phil. 2:24. It is probable that he then went on to 
Spain for the evangelization of this province, according 
to Rom. 15:24-28. On his return from Spain he would re- 
visit Ephesus, where it is likely he left Timothy, accord- 
ing to First Timothy 1 :3. After spending a short time in 
this Eastern capital, he returned to Macedonia, and most 
probably at Philippi he wrote the first letter to Timothy. 
On leaving Macedonia he visited Miletus and Troas, ac- 



FIRST TIMOTHY 



231 



cording to II Tim. 4:13, leaving Trophimus at Miletus, 
II Tim. 4:20. He then probably went on to Crete, where 
he left Titus, according to Titus 1 15. After remaining on 
the island for a short time, he proceeded next to Corinth, 
where he left Erastus, according to II Tim. 3 :20. On leav- 
ing Corinth he probably visited Nicopolis, according to 
Titus 3:12, where he was arrested and sent to Rome for 
the second and final imprisonment there. It is true that 
this line of visitation is not definitely stated in these late 
epistles, but the statements in these letters favor the con- 
struction of this line of procedure for the fourth missionary 
journey. 

The two principal arguments in favor of the Apostle's 
release and the fourth missionary journey, following the 
release, are: (1) The fact that many references in the pas- 
toral epistles to places visited by the Apostle in his late 
career, cannot be fitted into the scheme outlined in the 
book of Acts. Since there are so many places visited, ac- 
cording to these late references, which do not fit and can- 
not be fitted into the historical scheme of the book of Acts, 
it is therefore probable that he visited these places men- 
tioned in the late letters on another missionary journey, 
which Luke did not describe in his book. (2) According 
to Rom. 15:24-28, the Apostle had planned a Western evan- 
gelistic campaign which was to include the province of 
Spain. It is true there is no positive evidence that he ever 
carried out this design of evangelization in the extreme 
West, and yet there is a reference in the letter of Clement 
of Rome (chap. 5) that Paul was in the extreme West late 
in his life. The extreme optimism of the Apostle in his 
letters to the Philippians and Philemon, would also suggest 
the release of the Apostle. There would scarcely be any 
doubt of his making a fourth missionary journey, if it could 
be demonstrated that he was released. All the above ref- 
erences, although they do not positively prove it, strongly 
suggest the release and the probable fourth missionary 
journey. 



232 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



The Pauline Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles 

This problem has received much attention from New 
Testament scholars in the last few years. The great ques- 
tion concerning these letters is, Did the Apostle Paul write 
them? There are three principal views held as to the au- 
thorship of these letters, (i) The first view holds that they 
are completely genuine; that is, they were written by Paul 
in exactly the form in which we now have them. This 
position is held by such eminent scholars as Conybeare 
and Howson, Farrar, Dods, Gloag, Godet, Lightfoot, Sal- 
mon, Weiss. (2) The second view holds that they are com- 
pletely spurious; that is, that they are not Paul's at all. 
This view is held by Holtzmann, Davidson, Sabatier, and 
Weizacker. This is a position so radical that very few 
New Testament schoalrs have adopted it. (3) The mediat- 
ing view is very popular in the world of New Testament 
criticism today. This third view is that some writer in the 
Second Century used genuine Pauline matter for compos- 
ing the letters in the form in which we now have them. 
This view is held by Harnack, Jiilicher, and McGiffert. 
Those holding this view think that the Pauline sub-stratum 
in the letters gave them their authority and accounts for 
their being ascribed to the Apostle Paul. 

Arguments Against the Pauline Authorship 

Before passing on to consider the letters themselves, 
it will be helpful for us to stop and consider the arguments 
urged against the Pauline authorship. There are four prin- 
cipal lines of argument urged by those who deny the gen- 
uineness of these letters. 

(1) The vocabulary and style are so different from 
those in the unquestioned letters of the Apostle. In reply, 
it must be conceded that the author is using a somewhat 
new set of words in these letters. One of the most strik- 
ing experiences a Greek student has in passing from Ro- 
mans, Galatians, or the Corinthian letters, to the pastoral 
letters, is the difficulty he finds in mastering the vocabulary 
of this last group of letters. The style is not so abrupt and 
vigorous as we find in the earlier letters. But it can be 



FIRST TIMOTHY 



233 



said in reply to this objection that there is scarcely more 
difference between the style of the pastoral epistles and the 
imprisonment epistles than between the imprisonment 
epistles and the great doctrinal letters. Again, the mat- 
ters discussed in the pastoral letters are of a practical na- 
ture, mainly concerning the question of church organiza- 
tion and government. This would help to explain the dif- 
ference in vocabulary, as well as the difference in style. 

(2) It is also urged that the organization of the 
churches referred to in these letters is much more elaborate 
than that implied in Paul's acknowledged letters. In an- 
swer to this objection it can be urged that we see the pro- 
cess of church organization going on in Romans, Philip- 
pians, and Ephesians, which process doubtless reached its 
climax at the time reflected in the pastoral letters. On the 
other hand, it may be replied that the objectors to the 
Pauline auhorship have over-emphasized the elaborate 
church organization, which they claim is observable in 
these letters. There are bishops and deacons mentioned 
in the letter to the Philippians, and the pastoral letters 
merely emphasize the qualification and functions of these 
officers in the early churches. Although Timothy and 
Titus apparently possess some unusual authority in the 
appointment of these officers and their establishment in 
the churches, yet there seem to be no signs of the later 
hierarchical form of church government. The type of church 
government here need not be later than Paul. 

(3) It is also urged that the heresies referred to in 
the pastoral letters are in a more advanced stage of develop- 
ment than those implied in the earlier letters. In reply, 
it may be said that the development of these heresies does 
not impress the unbiased reader that they are far in advance 
of those answered and denounced in Col. 2:8-23. More- 
over, it would not take many years for a common heresy 
to reach an advanced stage of development. 

(4) Perhaps the greatest argument urged by these 
extreme critics against the Pauline authorship, is the dif- 
ference in the theological conception. They urge that the 
writer in these late letters uses the word "faith" in an ob- 



234 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



jective sense to include the contents of all wholesome doc- 
trine. It may be answered that the Apostle comes very 
close to using the word in this same sense in Rom. 12:6. 
It is true that in these later letters the author puts greater 
emphasis upon this objective sense of the word. This can 
be explained on the ground of the presence of the threaten- 
ing heresies and the Apostle's sense of responsibility in 
his old age, especially as he is approaching death, to pro- 
tect the sound doctrines against the inroads of all false 
teachers. This is why he dwells so much on the "sound 
doctrines" and "the faith." There is also a slight difference 
in the point of view which the writer takes in these late 
letters from that taken in the early letters on the function 
of the law. The writer in the pastorals emphasizes the re- 
straining power of the law in the production of moral liv- 
ing (I Tim. chap. 1), while in the early letters the Apostle 
is apparently minimizing the moral function of the law. 
In reply, it must be remembered that in the early letters 
the Apostle is discussing the function of the law as related 
to salvation. He is in the thick of the fight with the Juda- 
izers and goes his full length in denying that any man can 
attain salvation by the deeds of the law. In the later let- 
ters the Apostle feels that the gospel of grace has triumphed 
over the Judaistic contentions, and so he is emphasizing 
the moral function of the law, which he could not afford to 
do at any great length while he was in the midst of the 
battle with the Judaizers. It is also urged that the Apos- 
tle, in the late letters, ascribes salvation to God the Father 
rather than to Christ the Son. In reply we must concede 
that often the Apostle does call God "the Savior," an ex- 
pression which does not occur in any of the letters prior 
to the pastorals. But the doctrine of salvation by the grace 
of God is extensively elaborated in Galatians and Romans; 
also in Ephesians. So there is essentially no conflict in the 
ultimate source of salvation as expressed in the great 
doctrinal letters and Ephesians, as over against its ex- 
pression in the pastorals. It is also easy to see how natural 
it would be for the aged Apostle, as he looks back over 
his experiences of the Father's grace, to think upon God 



FIRST TIMOTHY 



235 



the Father as being ultimately the Savior of sinful men. 
He has here simply reached the ultimatum in his theological 
thinking on the origin of the salvation of sinners. It is 
really God the Father who saves, while the "man Christ 
Jesus" is merely "the Mediator" through whom the Father 
saves trusting sinners. Moreover, it is clear in some of 
these references (e. g., Tit. 2:13) that Paul is identifying 
Christ with God (so Robertson, Gram. p. 786). 

First Timothy 

1. Its Occasion. Paul was probably in Macedonia, 
on the fourth missionary journey, when he wrote this first 
letter to Timothy. He had just stationed Timothy in the 
capital city of Ephesus to perfect the organization of the 
churches in the province of Asia, while he had crossed 
over to Macedonia. He was probably in Philippi with his 
favorite church when he wrote this first pastoral letter. 

2. The Purpose. There are three lines of design : 

(1) To encourage Timothy, amid the heretical tenden- 
cies and persecutions of the age, to fight the good fight of 
faith. Timothy seems to have been rather timid in his na- 
ture ; at least, he impresses one that he was not of the 
bold, courageous type of man. So the Apostle feels the im- 
portance of urging this young preacher to be brave and 
bold in his fight against the moral evils and the doctrinal 
errors of the age. 

(2) To instruct him further in the proper organization 
of the churches. He specially desires to impress upon him 
the very fine type of moral character necessary in both 
the bishop and the deacon. The Apostle feels that the 
churches themselves could not stem the tides of immorality 
in that age, unless they were led by pastors and deacons of 
the very highest type of moral character. He also em- 
phasizes the necessity of the pastors being "apt to teach." 

(3) To denounce all the existing heresies and stand 
firm for the teachings which he had received from the aged 
Apostle. As the Apostle is approaching the end of his 
career, he realizes how important it is that strong men 
should become the transmitters of these sound doctrines 



236 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



to the succeeding generations. This third design seems to 
have been paramount in the Apostle's purpose in writing 
this letter. 

3. The Date. If this letter was written in the early 
portion of the fourth missionary journey, which we have 
supposed above, the date of composition would be about the 
year 64 or 65. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1, 2). 
II. Timothy's Mission: to correct legalism and to show the moral 
function of the law (1:3-11). 

III. Personal Thanksgiving for His Salvation by Grace (1:12-17). 

IV. General Charge to Timothy to Be a Good Soldier (1:18-20). 
V. Exhortation on Prayer and Public Worship (Chap. 2). 

VI. Qualifications of Bishops, Deacons, and Deaconesses (3:1-13). 
VII. Two Purposes of Writing: to announce his visit and to en- 
courage Timothy (3:14-16). 
VIII. Warning Against Heresies, Especially Asceticism (4:1-5). 

IX. More Personal Exhortation to Timothy: to live godly, read, 
preach, teach, etc. (4:6-16). 
X. How to Deal With Various Classes in the Church: the young, 
the old, widows, and elders (Chap. 5). 
XI. Final Exhortations: to servants, as to false teaching, against 
riches, etc. (Chap. 6). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, a divinely appointed apostle, to Timothy, my 
genuine spiritual child, wishes spiritual blessings and pros- 
perity from the Father and from Christ Jesus the Lord. 

As I exhorted you on my leaving Ephesus for Mace- 
donia, charge those with legalistic tendencies not to teach 
a different message from that which I taught; not to mix 
the fables and legends of old women with the good news ; 
that the law has a restraining force on the wicked, and so 
is a good institution, although as I formerly taught, it can- 
not empower men to achieve righteousness. My glorious 
message implies this attitude towards the law, but trust 
and love in the heart are the ultimate ends of the law. 

I praise Christ the Lord for arresting me, the perse- 
cutor of the church, for bestowing on me His forgiveness 
for thus ignorantly pursuing Him. Yea, I praise Him for 
impressing me to proclaim the good news, thus giving suc- 
ceeding generations an example of how He can deliver and 
use even the chief of sinners. I solemnly charge you, O 



FIRST TIMOTHY 



237 



Timothy, not to make shipwreck of your confidence in 
Christ as Hermenaeus and Alexander, under the Satanic 
influence, have done, but continue to trust in Him and fight 
the battles of righteousness (chapter i). 

I exhort that the members of the church first of all 
pray regularly for the civil officers and for all, that we 
Christians may have opportunity to live more quietly and 
profitably, for there is one God over all, who longs for all 
to be delivered from sin in Christ, who is the mediator of 
His forgiveness. For the proclamation of such good news 
I have received divine appointment as an apostle, as a 
preacher, and as a teacher. 

I desire that the men in every place of public worship 
lead in the prayers in holy sincerity; that the women 
do not decorate themselves in gold and splendid dresses, 
but in good deeds, and worship in modesty and subordina- 
tion to the men who lead the worship. This is fitting, since 
Eve was made after Adam, and proved herself weaker by 
yielding in the garden to the temptations of Satan (chap- 
ter 2). 

To desire to be the pastor of a church is a good thing. 
But warn the churches to be cautious in the selection of 
their pastors. The pastor must be of excellent moral char- 
acter, have only one living wife, be self-controlled, hospit- 
able, not quarrelsome, but gentle, not a lover of money, a 
good administrator at home, a good teacher, and, above all, 
must have a good reputation outside the church. The dea- 
cons and deaconesses must also be of the same high moral 
character. I write these things with the hope of coming 
soon myself. But if I should not come, I write that you 
may know how to conduct all the affairs of the church, 
which is the support of the truth and the means of pro- 
claiming to the world the basic truths of Christianity, name- 
ly: Christ incarnate, Christ vindicated in the Spirit, seen 
by angels, preached among the nations, trusted in by men, 
and received up to glory (chapter 3). 

I warn you against the heresies in the last days. False 
teachers will arise, teaching asceticism by forbidding to mar- 
ry, to eat certain foods, etc., which God has blessed for 



238 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



man's use. Be diligent in reminding the people of these 
things, and thus you will be a good minister. Give your- 
self wholly to your ministry, in pure living, reading, teach- 
ing, preaching, etc., for in so doing you will minister the 
highest spiritual culture to yourself and to other Chris- 
tians (chapter 4). 

Deal cautiously with the various classes in the church, 
the young and the old. Especially be cautious in dealing 
with widows, receiving only those at least sixty years of 
age, and with good Christian lives, as beneficiaries on the 
charity roll. Exhort the young widows to marry, be loyal 
wives, and rear Christian children. See that pastors and 
other leaders in the churches be honored and supported by 
the church. Take care of your health and deal wisely with 
offenders, making discriminations according to circum- 
stances (chapter 5). 

Warn Christian slaves to adorn the teachings of Chris- 
tianity with faithful service and beautiful lives. Warn 
against false teachings, especially against doctrinal dispu- 
tations which engender strife. Admonish Christians of great 
wealth that the love of money leads to all kinds of evil ; to 
be rich in good works and lay up treasures in heaven by 
helping the helpless. I charge you, O Timothy, in the pres- 
ence of the perfect, crucified, and risen Christ to flee from 
all these evils yourself, and follow a life of righteousness 
and godliness, love and fidelity, patience and gentleness. 
O Timothy, guard the deposit of Christian truth which you 
are to minister to men. Blessings on you. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



TITUS AND SECOND TIMOTHY 

In the preceding chapter we have seen that Paul, while 
in Macedonia, wrote the first letter to Timothy. As inti- 
mated above, he passed over from Macedonia to Miletus and 
Troas, then back to Crete, where he left Titus, and then 
on to Corinth. It is probable that he wrote back to Titus 
while he was still in Corinth. 

Titus 

1. Its Occasion. Paul had remained a short while 
on the island of Crete, just before his visit to Corinth, and 
doubtless helped in the organization of the churches there. 
He had left Titus as the apostolic representative to carry 
on the work of further organizing the churches and estab- 
lishing good and competent pastors over them. 

2. The Purpose. There is a three-fold purpose: (i) 
To certify to Titus' authority as an apostolic representa- 
tive. The Apostle feels that an apostolic letter in the 
hands of Titus would serve as an authoritative document 
for his proceeding in the matter of thoroughly organizing the 
churches and properly manning them with good pastors. 
(2) To give further directions to Titus about the organiza- 
tion of churches and the qualifications of the men to be 
selected as pastors. He emphasizes in this letter, as well as 
in the first letter to Timothy, the very high type of moral 
character necessary in the pastor. (3) It is also probable 
that the Apostle writes to urge Titus to stand for the sound 
doctrines and for a high type of moral living by all Chris- 
tians. We infer this from his reference to the Cretans as 
being so debased in character. The Apostle feels that the 
churches must maintain a high standard of morals if they 
are to produce a strong and stalwart Christianity on the 
Island of Crete. Furthermore, he feels that the highest 
moral living must be rooted in a genuine faith in the 
basal doctrines of Christianity. 



240 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



3. The Date. It is not known exactly how long it 
had been since the writing of the first letter to Timothy. 
But the movements of this last missionary journey seem 
to be rapid, and so there were probably only a few months 
between the writing of First Timothy and Titus. The 
date is likely 64 or 65. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1-4). 

II. Titus' Mission on the Island of Crete (1:5-9). 

1. To perfect the organization of churches (1:5). 

2. To insist upon proper qualifications of pastors (1:6-9). 

III. Sins of the Cretans (1:10-16). 

1. Unruly, vain talkers, deceivers, false teachers for the sake 
of gain (1:10, 11). 

2. Confirmed by the testimony of a Cretan writer (1:12). 

3. Titus to reprove them sharply for such sins (1:13-16). 

IV. Instructions on What Titus Shall Teach (2:1-3:11). 

1. Sober living by both old and young, by men and women, by 
servants and by Titus himself as the example of all (2:1-10). 

2. The first and second coming of Christ urged as the motive 
for such living (2:11-15). 

3. Christian citizenship and general benevolence (3:1-8). 

4. The factious spirit to be condemned (3:9-11). 

V. Conclusion (3:12-15). 

1. Personal instructions to Titus about his own movements and 
those of Zenas and Apollos (1:12-14). 

2. Salutations and benediction (3:15). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, a bond-slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, accord- 
ing to faith in the selecting favor of God, and according 
to the hope of eternal life, to Titus, my genuine spiritual 
child, wishes spiritual blessing and prosperity from the 
Father and from Christ Jesus the Lord. I left you in Crete 
to perfect the organization of the churches, to help those 
churches select only men of moral character and sound 
in the teachings which you received from me, an apostle 
of Christ. 

You must see to it that the churches of Crete have 
this class of pastors, because there are false teachers, es- 
pecially Judaizers, who, on account of their greed for gain, 
will pervert the true message of Christianity. You must 
heed this injunction because the Cretans themselves, as 
one of their poets, Epimenides, says, are liars and beastly 
gluttons, and so easily deceived (chapter i). 



TITUS AND SECOND TIMOTHY 



241 



Teach the Christians, old and young, men and women 
and slaves, to live pure, sober lives ; the young to revere the 
aged ; the young women to marry and be loyal wives and 
good mothers. Be yourself an example in purity, sound 
teaching, and proper speech. Teach the slaves to stop steal- 
ing and render submissive service to their masters and thus 
adorn the good news of God's reclaiming love, which has 
appeared to all men in Christ to deliver us from sin and 
help us live soberly and righteously and godly, in the light 
of the second coming of Christ who gave Himself on His 
first mission to earth to purchase us from sin, that we 
might excel in good works (chapter 2). 

Exhort the people to obey the civil laws and practice 
benevolence, because they have been delivered from sin 
by the transforming of the Holy Spirit. Charge them to 
beware of factions. 

When I send Artemas and Tychicus come to me at 
Nicopolis, where I expect to spend the winter. Send for- 
ward Zenas the lawyer and Apollos the preacher. En- 
courage all the people to practice good works. Greetings 
from all. Blessings on you all. (Chapter 3.) 

Second Timothy. 

We now come to the last production of the great Apos- 
tle's pen, his second letter to Timothy. 

1. Its Occasion. The Apostle, while on his fourth 
missionary journey, had probably come at last to Nicopolis 
(Titus 3:12), where he was arrested and sent to Rome 
for his final imprisonment. It was while he was in chains 
for the last time and facing his death at the hands of 
Emperor Nero that the Apostle wrote this last message 
to his beloved young preacher friend. 

2. The Purpose. There is a double line of design : 
(1) To assert his personal triumph through Jesus Christ as 
he faces death. That simple faith in Jesus Christ, which 
long years ago brought him into right relation with God 
the Father, has been the channel through which the divine 
power has nerved him for every conflict of his busy life, 
and now guarantees to the dying martyr the consciousness 



242 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



of victory as he approaches his beheading at the hands 
of cruel Nero. There are no more beautiful words of 
Christian triumph than these last words from the Apostle's 
pen: "For I am already being offered, and the time 
of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, 
I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: Hence- 
forth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, 
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at 
that day ; and not to me only, but also to all them that have 
loved his appearing." (2) To encourage Timothy to keep 
on combatting the the false teachings. (See his exhorta- 
tions in 1:6-8; 2:3; 4:5, where the Apostle urges Timothy 
to suffer hardship for the gospel as a good soldier and 
evangelist of Jesus Christ.) Three times the Apostle ex- 
horts the younger preacher to endure hardness. The false 
teachers will make it hard for him to stand firm for the 
sound doctrines and overcome their persuasive appeals to 
the itching ears of the populace. Hence, the Apostle's fare- 
well lines to his younger companion in the ministry. 

3. The Date. This last letter was written in the 
year 64 or 65, just before Nero had him beheaded (on the 
Ostian Road), outside the city of Rome ; just before the best 
witness and truest interpreter of Jesus passed into the 
Kingdom of glory (4:18). 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1, 2). 

II. Thanksgiving and Reminiscence (1:3-14). 

1. He thanks God for the religious ancestry of himself and of 
of Timothy (1:3-6). 

2. Thanks God also for salvation by grace manifested by the 
appearance of Jesus Christ (1:7-11). 

3. In assurance he remembers the keeping hand of God (1:12-14). 

III. The Course of Phygelus and Hermogenes Contrasted With That 
of Onesiphorus (1:15-18). 

IV. Exhortation to Timothy to Be a Brave Soldier (Chap. 2). 

1. The Apostle's solemn charge (2:1-7). 

2. The motives for the appeal, the resurrection of Christ and 
the sufferings of the Apostle (2:8-13). 

3. A good workman who is an example to all (2:14-26). 

V. How Timothy Must Deal With the Coming Evils (Chap. 3). 

1. A description of the moral evils in the last days (3:1-9). 

2. Timothy charged to remember the Apostle's triumph over 
all persecutions (3:10-13). 

3. Commended to reliance upon the Holy Scriptures for final 
success (3:14-17). 



TITUS AND SECOND TIMOTHY 



243 



VI. Solemn Charge to Timothy and Announcement of the Apostle'* 

Death (4:1-8). 

1. The charge putting Timothy under oath (4:1-5). 

2. Announcing his own triumphant death (4:6-8). 

VII. Conclusion (4:9-22). 

1. Personal matters concerning those who had forsaken him, 
the cloak, the books, and the parchments (4:9-18). . 

2. Salutations (4:19-21). 

3. Benediction (4:22). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Paul, a divinely appointed apostle according to the 
promise of fellowship in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my be- 
loved child, wishes spiritual blessings and prosperity from 
God the Father and from Christ Jesus the Lord. I praise 
God in my ceasless prayers for you for your trust in Christ 
and your good religious home, blessed with a pious grand- 
mother, Lois, and mother, Eunice. Therefore, I beg you 
to keep at white heat, by exercise, the spiritual gifts im- 
parted to you at your induction into the ministry. Be not 
ashamed of Christ or of me, His prisoner, but suffer af- 
flictions for the good news of Christ, who in His death 
and resurrection defeated death and made life and immortal- 
ity to shine with glory. Him I serve in perfect assurance 
that He will keep me safe and secure until the last day. Fol- 
low my example. 

You remember Phygelus and Hermogenes forsook me, 
but that Onesiphorus ministered to me in my bonds. The 
Lord be merciful to him and his loved ones in the last 
great day (chapter i). 

Suffer hardship as a brave soldier of Christ, as one 
untrammeled in earthly affairs, just as a soldier of the 
Roman legions is supported by the government, or just as 
a farmer who knows that he will be fed from the products 
of his toil. Follow the example of Christ and live in fellow- 
ship with Him in suffering, as well as in glory. 

Keep the people from discussing the false teachings of 
the heretics, for these wranglings eat up the spiritual life 
as gangrene does the flesh. The Lord's foundation is sure. 
His truth shall stand. The minister must be gentle and 
positive, but not a debater. Be a vessel of beautiful, trans- 



244 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



formed spiritual character, by fleeing youthful desires and 
by following righteousness, love, and peace (chapter 2). 

Remember that grievous times of sins and sufferings 
are coming. Men will resist the truth as Jannes and Jam- 
bres resisted Moses. You must suffer as a Christian, but 
remember the Lord delivered me, and He will deliver you 
and all who suffer for Christ. Continue in the things I 
have taught you, and in your confidence in the Scriptures 
which are inspired of God and profitable for growing well- 
rounded Christian character (chapter 3). 

I most solemnly charge you to preach all the time, 
even if many do turn from the truth. Be a good evangelist 
and fill your ministry with sacrificial service, for I have 
finished my career of service and evangelism and am look- 
ing forward to the crown of reward at last. 

Be sure to come to me soon, for my other companions 
have gone, and I am alone. Only Luke is with me. Bring 
my cloak from Troas, and bring Carpus, and my books, 
especially the copies of the Scriptures. Beware of Alexan- 
der the copper-smith, who did me wrong. They all forsook 
me at my first trial, but the Lord stood with me and de- 
livered me from Nero the lion, and He will deliver, to whom 
be glory forever. Amen. 

Greet Prisca and Aquila and the family of Onesiphorus. 
Erastus is at Corinth, Trophimus at Miletus. Be sure to 
come before winter. All greet you. The Lord be with you. 
Blessings on you. 



PART IV 

Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles 



CHAPTER XXVII 
HEBREWS 

The letter to the Hebrews does not contain any direct 
allusion, either to the author or the addressees. There, 
is no positive statement in the letter as to who wrote it or 
to whom the writer wrote. 

I. The Destination. There can scarcely be any 
doubt that the readers addressed in this epistle were Chris- 
tian Jews, some of whom were about to apostatize from 
Christianity; that is, were about to relinquish their faith 
in Christianity and return to their faith in Judaism as the 
world's supreme religion. When we ask in what province 
or in what city these Jewish Christians lived, the answer 
is not so easy. Three places have presented claims for 
the residence of the Jewish Christians addressed in this 
letter. 

(i) Jerusalem. It must be conceded that it would 
be natural and easy for Jewish Christians in Jerusalem 
to abandon the gospel and return to the law, if put under 
the extreme pressure of persecution and its attendant dis- 
tresses. But the author's reference to their works of love 
and endurance, in 6:10 and 12:4, are apparently against 
the Jerusalem destination of the letter. The expression in 
2 :3 implies that the Christians addressed are Hellenistic and 
not Palestinian Christians, and so surely excludes Jeru- 
salem as the place of destination. It is not probable that 
Timothy, who is mentioned at the close of the letter as in- 
timately connected with the readers, would have had any 
great influence at Jerusalem. Moreover, if the letter had 
been addressed to Christians in Jerusalem, there would 
likely have been more local touches in the letter itself. 



246 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



(2) Alexandria. In favor of Alexandria as the des- 
tination of the letter the Alexandrian character of the 
theology is often urged. But this is not a conclusive argu- 
ment for Alexandria, inasmuch as the writer might have 
learned his theology elsewhere than in that city, since 
the Alexandrian thought had become so wide-spread. Per- 
haps the strongest argument against the Alexandrian des- 
tination is that the catechetical school at Alexandria, in the 
main, accepted the tradition that Paul was the author. If 
the letter had been addressed to Alexandria, the church 
there would surely have known who wrote the letter. 
Therefore, since the Pauline authorship is extremely doubt- 
ful, both from external and internal evidence, it could 
scarcely be possible that the readers were Alexandrian Jews. 

(3) Rome. The more probable suggestion is that 
the letter was sent to Jewish Christians in Rome. Even ac- 
cording to the letter to the Romans, there seem to have 
been several groups of Christians in the city of Rome. The 
expression at the close of the letter, "They of Italy salute 
you," probably means a group of Italian Christians who 
are absent from Italy. These are sending their salutation 
to their fellow Christians in Rome. Another confirmation 
of Rome as the destination is the fact that the letter to 
the Hebrews is first quoted in the letter of Clement of 
Rome. It would be the most natural thing in the world 
for him to know the letter thoroughly, if it had been first 
addressed to Jewish Christians in Rome. On the other 
hand, the evidence is not explicit enough to justify a posi- 
tive statement, even in favor of Rome as the destination. 

2. Occasion. The letter intimates that the readers 
were suffering persecution, and some of them were apparent- 
ly tempted to forsake Christianity and return to Judaism. 
As to the precise nature of the persecution, who conducted 
it, and why, we have no means of learning. Nor do we 
know exactly the extent of the persecution alluded to in the 
letter. We should judge that it was severe, inasmuch 
as some of the readers were in danger of forsaking Chris- 
tianity for Judaism. 



HEBREWS 



247 



3. Purpose. Why did the author write such a letter 
under such circumstances? (1) To encourage his Jewish 
Christian readers amid the persecutions now inflicted upon 
them. He wishes to increase their faith in Jesus as the 
"effulgence of His glory and the very image of His sub- 
stance"; to incite them to faith in Jesus as the Son of God 
superior to Moses or to angels; as the Great High Priest 
superior even to the high priest of the Aaronic order, who 
made the one all-sufficient atonement for the sins of men. 
(2) To prove to his suffering readers that Christianity is 
the supreme religion. He purposes in the letter to show 
that Christianity is superior to Judaism in the person of its 
revealer. Jesus is the Son and so is the highest revelation 
of the Father, superior to Moses and to angels as the 
medium of revealing the Father to men. He also seeks 
to prove, and does prove conclusively, that Jesus is a priest 
of the Melchizedek order; that is, that He possesses an un- 
broken and eternal priesthood, and that as such He offered 
the one supreme sacrifice for the sins of men, "Himself." 
Such a personal sacrifice of so high and holy a person 
must be far superior to the offerings of animals prescribed 
for the Aaronic priesthood. We can endorse Bruce, in his 
book on Hebrews, and positively assert that the epistle to 
the Hebrews was "the first Christian apology" — the first 
literary production written specifically to prove the su- 
periority of Christianity as a religion. 

4. Date. As to the time of composition, it is im- 
possible for us to be absolutely certain. As intimated 
above, it was composed during some period of persecu- 
tion. It is possible to date it in the period from 65 to 68, 
during the Neronian persecution, or between 80 and 95, 
during the Domitian persecution. Many extreme critics 
prefer the latter date. But it seems to us that the persecu- 
tion in the time of Nero, especially since we remember 
the bitter feeling of the Romans during this period against 
Jews, would better fit the circumstances implied in the 
letter itself. 

5. The Writer. This is the battle ground of the 
epistle. Some good scholars still insist on the Pauline au- 



248 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



thorship, but the vast majority of them, both radical and 
conservative, are decidedly against the Pauline authorship. 

Arguments for the Pauline Authorship 

1. The External Evidence. Pantgenus, head of the 
catechetical school in Alexandria about 170, ascribes the 
letter to Paul (Eusebius, Church History, 6:14). Clement 
of Alexandria, his successor, did likewise. Origen, his 
successor, seems to have regarded Paul as the author, in his 
early career, but later he hesitated, saying, "Who wrote the 
Epistle, God only knows" (Eusebius, Church History, 6:35). 
Paul of Samasota, a famous heretic in the latter half of the 
Third Century, also ascribed it to Paul. Eusebius, the 
church historian in the Fourth Century, did likewise. After 
Eusebius, all the Greek fathers ascribe the letter to the 
Apostle Paul. 

2. The Internal Evidence. There are two points spe- 
cially urged by those who hold to the Pauline authorship, as 
reflected in the letter itself: (1) It is urged by them that 
it is a most natural thing that the letter should begin as it 
does without any salutation, if Paul is the author. They 
urge that Paul was despised by the Jews for forsaking the 
religion of his fathers, and so it is merely a fine psycho- 
logical stroke that Paul should withhold his name and re- 
frain from a direct salutation. (2) It is also urged that the 
spirit of the letter in its conclusion is Pauline. The refer- 
ence to Timothy, especially his imprisonment and release 
therefrom, and the author's association with him in coming 
to visit the readers, seem to suggest the Apostle Paul as 
the writer. 

Arguments Against the Pauline Authorship 
1. The External Evidence. Irenseus, a Greek father 
in the last quarter of the Second Century, fails to ascribe 
this letter to Paul (Eusebius, Church History, 5:26). Clem- 
ent of Rome, in his letter to the church in Corinth, although 
he quotes it several times, does not quote it as Paul's. It 
would have added great weight to his appeal to the church 
at Corinth if he had mentioned Paul's name. His failing to 
do so in such circumstances is a strong indication that he 



HEBREWS 



249 



knew the author was not Paul. Caius of Rome, at the close 
of the Second Century, excludes it from Paul's letters. The 
first Latin father who did ascribe this letter to Paul was 
Hilary of Poictiers in the latter half of the Fourth Century. 
Jerome, in the. Fourth Century, is still doubtful as to the 
Pauline authorship of this letter. It was not until Augus- 
tine's day, at the beginning of the Fifth Century, that 
Hebrews was generally ascribed to Paul by both Latin and 
Greek fathers. From this array of facts we see the external 
evidence is strong against the Paul authorship. 

2. The Internal Evidence. As strong as the external 
evidence appears to some, the internal evidence is decidedly 
stronger against the Pauline authorship of Hebrews. 

(1) This letter has no saluation, as all Paul's ac- 
knowledged letters have. The argument which was made 
above, that this might not militate against the Pauline 
authorship, but really be in favor of it, is not well-founded. 
Although the non-Christian Jews did hate Paul for for- 
saking the religion of his fathers, there is unmistakable 
evidence in the New Testament that his Jewish brothers 
loved and honored him. So there would be no reason for 
his withholding his name in a formal salutation to the 
Jewish brothers. Moreover, the burning love of the Apos- 
tle for his kinsmen in the flesh would most naturally ex- 
press itself in his usual salutation, if he had been the writer 
of this letter. 

(2) The vocabulary of Hebrews is so different from 
that of the acknowledged epistles. Paul shows no fondness 
for euphonious, rhetorical terms, while the author of this 
letter selects just such words, even where there are syno- 
nyms shorter and more rugged. For a fuller discussion of 
this point, see Milligan, The Theology of the Epistle to the 
Hebrews. 

(3) The style is also different from the acknowl- 
edged style of the Apostle. The Greek of Hebrews is more 
smooth and elegant than that of Galatians, Romans, Ephes- 
ians, etc. No student of Greek, who has at all mastered the 
various types of style, can accept the Pauline authorship. 
If there were no other arguments except the argument of 



250 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



style, we would not at all accept it as conclusive. But 
when we consider all the other arguments, and then see 
that the writer of Hebrews uses the long, periodic, care- 
fully prepared, and well-jointed sentences, over against the 
usually short, rugged, broken sentences of the Apostle 
Paul, we are driven to conclude that Paul was not the 
author of this letter. 

(4) There is also a different method in introducing 
quotations from the Old Testament. The writer of He- 
brews usually says in introducing his quotations, "God 
saith," "The Holy Spirit saith," etc., emphasizing the divine 
authorship of the Old Testament Scriptures. On the other 
hand, Paul's most common expression for introducing quo- 
tations is, "It is written;" at other times the expression, 
"Moses saith," or "David saith," etc., always emphasizing 
the human writer. This is not to be urged as proving that 
the writer of Hebrews believed in the inspiration of the 
Old Testament, while Paul did not. See II Tim. 3:16 for 
an expression of Paul's belief in the inspiration of the Old 
Testament. The difference in the methods of quotation is 
simply a matter of personal literary form. 

(5) The titles applied to the Incarnate Son are dif- 
ferent. The writer of Hebrews nearly always uses only 
one of the terms, Jesus, or Christ, or the Lord, while Paul 
is fond of uniting either two or three of these appellations. 
Every reader of the New Testament is familiar with Paul's 
compound appellations, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Jesus 
Christ the Lord, Christ Jesus the Lord, our Lord Jesus 
Christ, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, etc. It is strange 
that he should have desisted from this manner of alluding 
to his Savior in the writing of this letter, if he be its author. 

(6) The theology of Hebrews is constructed from a 
different point of view. In Hebrews the priesthood of 
Christ is not only the starting point, but is the center of 
its theology. On the other hand, the central doctrine of 
Paul's letters is justification by faith without the deeds 
of the law. The starting point in the elaboration of this 
doctrine of grace is man's helplessness, because of sin 
in his nature, to achieve righteousness. There is not at all 



HEBREWS 



251 



any conflict between the theology of Paul and the theol- 
ogy of Hebrews. They simply reflect different personali- 
ties as the human agencies in their construction. The word 
grace, which is central in Paul's theology and occurs in his 
writings scores of times, is scarcely ever used in Hebrews 
in the technical sense in which Paul uses it as the effect- 
ing cause of man's salvation. It cannot be answered in re- 
ply to these differences as to theology that Paul is writ- 
ing in Hebrew to Jews, while in his other letters he was writ- 
ing to Gentiles. It is probable that in most of the church 
letters which the Apostle wrote there was a large number 
of Jewish Christians addressed. Especially is this true of 
his masterpiece addressed to the church in Rome. 

On this question of the authorship, we need not and 
must not be dogmatic. There is no doctrine at stake, what- 
ever view one takes as to the authorship. If Paul did not 
write it no one knows positively who did write it. It is 
not likely that Luke wrote it, as some have supposed. It 
is not very probable that Barnabas is the author, although 
Tertullian, an early Latin father, ascribed the letter to 
him. Moreover, it is not probable, as Harnack, J. Rendall 
Harris, and a few others think, that Priscilla wrote this 
letter. The most probable conjecture that has ever been 
made is that Apollos the Alexandrian, the rhetorician, who 
was so able in the Old Testament Scriptures, is the real 
author of Hebrews. His association with Paul would help 
to explain all the Pauline touches of theology, while his 
Alexandrian culture would explain all the references which 
imply that culture, and would also explain the elegant 
diction and flowing style of the letter. 

General Outline 

I. The Argumentative Portion, the Theme Being: the Finality of 
Christianity (1:1-10:18). 

1. Proof from the superiority of Christ to the angels (1:1-2:18). 

2. From the superiority of Christ to Moses and Joshua (3:1-4:16). 

3. From the superiority of Christ to the Aaronic priest, He being 
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (5:1-7:28). 

(a) Christ the true High Priest by divine appointment and 
by human experience (5:1-10). 

(b) The spiritual dullness of the readers rebuked, with 
warning and encouragement (5:11-6:20). 



252 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



(c) The Melchizedek priesthood of Christ described (7:1-28). 
(1) The priestly dignity of Melchizedek (7:1-10). (2) 
The messianic priesthood of Melchizedek as announced 
by the psalmist (Ps. 110) and realized in Christ superior 
to the Aaronic priesthood (7:11-25). (3) The superior 
efficacy and dignity of Christ's high priesthood (7:26-28). 
4. Proof from the superiority of Christ's high priestly service, 
sanctuary and sacrifice (8:1-10:18). 

(a) Christ's high priesthood based on a better covenant 
(8:1-13). 

(b) Christ's high priesthood has a better sanctuary and 
sacrifice (9:1-28). 

(c) The final and eternal efficacy of Christ's sacrifice (10:1- 
18). 

II. The Practical Portion (10:19-12:28). 

1. On the ground of such a sacrifice the readers should ap- 
proach God's throne boldly (10:19-39). 

2. The readers encouraged with a roll call of the heroes of 
faith (Chap. 11). 

3. Exhortations to endurance and fidelity in suffering (Chap. 
12). 

III. Conclusion (Chap. 13). 

1. General exhortations, as to love, hospitality, marriage, treat- 
ment of spiritual leaders, etc. (13:1-17). 

2. The writer asks the readers to pray for him that he may 
be restored (13:18, 19). 

3. Benediction (13:20-21). 

4. Further exhortation (13:22, 23). 

5. Salutations and final benediction (13:24, 25). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

In former generations God spoke to men in different 
ways and only in fragments, through his prophetic repre- 
sentative, but in the Christian revelation He speaks the final 
word through His Son, the heir of all, the medium of crea- 
tion, the effulgence of His glory, and the impress of His 
essentia;! nature, tiheUpholder of the universe, and the 
Deliverer of men from sin, who is as much greater than 
angels as His name, Son, is greater than theirs, messengers. 
The superiority of the Son to angels is reflected in your 
Greek Bible (Ps. 2:7; II. Sam. 7:14; Deut. 32:43; Ps. 977; 
104:4; 45 :6, 7; 102:25,27; 110:1) (chap. 1). 

Therefore, it is a dangerous thing to reject the deliv- 
erance offered by this superior Deliverer, whose words are 
more sure than those of the angels through whom the law 
was given and whose proffered deliverance was proven 
to be from God, by wonders, signs, and spiritual gifts. 

Yea, the dominion over the world promised to man is 
realized only in Christ, who became a real man and tasted 
death for every man, and thus became a perfect, sympa- 



HEBREWS 



253 



thetic Deliverer of weak, falling men, and so a merciful 
High Priest (chapter 2). 

So, brethren, consider the greatness of the special Mes- 
senger and High Priest of Christianity. He is greater than 
Moses, for Moses was only a servant, while Jesus is a Son ; 
Moses was only a part of the old religious structure, while 
Christ is the builder of the new. 

I warn you to remember the example of Israel's un- 
belief in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief they 
failed to enter the land of rest promised by God. They 
did not obtain the real spiritual rest which God intended 
to give His people, for He speaks of another rest in the 
Psalms. The real rest is fellowship with God, a rest akin 
to the joy into which God Himself entered on com- 
pleting the creation of the universe. Therefore, brethren, 
let us be diligent to trust on and hope on, and thus enter 
into the spiritual rest of God. Since Christ is our High 
Priest and so our Friend at heaven's court, let us pray 
boldly and expectantly at the throne of His favor (chaps. 
3 and 4). 

Christ is a true High Priest, divinely appointed as 
are the Aaronic high priests, and a real man with human 
experiences like theirs. The Psalmist has said, "Thou art 
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek," and this 
utterance from God proves His divine appointment. In 
the garden and on the cross He suffered in tears and agony 
as a real man. Yea, through such experiences of suffering 
as a man, He became the perfect, sympathetic High Priest 
between man and God (5:1-10). 

But before I speak to you of the Melchizedek priest- 
hood of Christ I must stop to rebuke you for your spiritual 
dullness. You ought to be teachers, by reason of the time 
you have been Christians, but you are still babes to be 
fed on spiritual milk and not on meat. I beseech you to 
leave your spiritual immaturity and go on to maturity in 
spiritual experiences, remembering that you cannot go back 
to the first stages of the Christian life, if you have fallen 
by the wayside, but you must step back into the Christian 
way where you left it. Do not, as it were, recrucify Christ 



254 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



by turning your back on Him after He has died to deliver 
you from sin. I feel confident that you will not retro- 
grade but progress in spiritual culture, for God cannot for- 
get your deeds of love in the past. Let us be encouraged 
by the promise of God to Abraham, made through two 
immutable things, His character and His oath, and go on 
in enduring hope, which, like an anchor fastened to the 
throne of heaven, holds us firm on the seas of life's suf- 
fering (5:11-6:20). 

Now let us go on to consider the Melchizedek priest- 
hood of Jesus. Melchizedek was a royal priest, so great 
that even Abraham paid tithes to him and received bless- 
ing from him. He was a living, eternal priest, through 
whom even the Aaronic priests, through their father Abra- 
ham, paid tithes. Jesus sprang from the tribe of Judah, 
not from the priestly tribe of Levi, and hence the necessity 
for the change of the law of priesthood. The Aaronic 
priests, by their ministrations, could not make men perfect. 
They were sinful, mortal ; Christ is sinless, eternal, and 
so superior and able to deliver to completeness all who 
come to God through Him (chap. 7). 

Moreover, the high priesthood of Christ is superior to 
the Aaronic, in that it is based on a better covenant, the 
new covenant of God's reclaiming love. This covenant is 
superior because of its superior spiritual promises to be- 
stow on men the forgiveness of their sins and the inscrip- 
tion of spiritual truth on their hearts (chap. 8). 

Again, Christ is the superior High Priest because He 
officiates in heaven, the superior sanctuary, the original 
pattern of the sanctuary given to Moses, in which the 
Aaronic high priests minister once a year, offering a bloody 
sacrifice first for their own sins and then for those of the 
people. 

Moreover, Christ has offered the superior sacrifice, 
Himself, His own life, not as did the Aaronic high priests, 
the lives of calves and goats, which offerings were not ca- 
pable of producing moral and spiritual transformations in 
the worshippers. Yea, the blood (the symbol of life) was 
the means of purification under the old economy, so now, 



HEBREWS 



255 



in the Christian religion, the blood of Christ (the giving up 
of His life) is the means of cleansing men who trust in 
Him. Those priests offered many sacrifices ; He once for 
all offered Himself as the final sacrifice. Then let us, since 
we all must die and face our eternal destiny, wait for 
Christ's second coming, a coming which shall be apart from 
sin and consummation of our deliverance from sin (chap. 9). 

Whereas the sacrifices of the Aaronic high priests 
could not produce moral perfection, and so had to be re- 
peated each year, the sacrifice of Christ is final and eternal 
in its efficacy to produce moral and spiritual transforma- 
tion. On the basis of Christ's eternal sacrifice, men are led 
to do the will of God, who writes His spiritual law on the 
hearts of forgiven men. 

Because of these truths, brethren, let us boldly ap- 
proach God through this new living way in Christ; let us 
fill out our faith to completion, and hope on to the end, 
for He is faithful to keep all His promises. 

Beware of going back, for God will punish you with 
sore judgment. He takes no pleasure in those who re- 
trograde in spiritual living. Hope on and receive your 
final deliverance with the future reward (chap. 10). 

Remember the heroes of old who suffered, endured, 
and wrought mighty wonders by the confidence which gives 
substance to the things hoped for and is the proof of things 
unseen. Recall the examples of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abra- 
ham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, 
Barak, Sampson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets, 
and thousands of others, who did not receive all that was 
promised them, but hoped on to the end and, in fellowship 
with us as the complement of their number, enter into the 
complete realization of spiritual blessings (chap. 11). 

Therefore, follow the example of these heroes of sub- 
lime, conquering hope. Above all, follow the example of 
Jesus, who endured the cross and afterwards entered into 
the joy of His Father's presence. Your sufferings are in- 
significant by the side of the taunts and contradictions He 
endured from sinners beneath Him. Your sufferings are 



256 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



but the chastening hand of your heavenly Father on you, 
who, like an earthly father, chastens you for your higher 
final good. 

Follow peace with all men and purity of life, if you 
would see the Lord. Let no bitterness arise, or impure 
living between the sexes, or worldliness like that of Esau 
who sold his inheritance for a mess of meat. Remember 
the old revelation had its terrors and was changeable, but 
the new is heavenly and as unchangeable as the living 
God Himself. The new brings us into real fellowship 
with God and angels and all the blessed of earth, in the 
final spiritual fete in eternity (chap. 12). 

Practice brotherly love and hospitality and be merci- 
ful to the prisoners. Keep the marriage ties inviolate and 
its relations pure. Love not money and practice being con- 
tented. Support your spiritual teachers and follow their 
examples. Jesus Christ is the same forever. So be firm 
in the truth and offer up to God the sacrifices of praise 
continually. Help the helpless, for this is also an accept- 
able sacrifice to God. 

Since we desire to live honestly and conscientiously, 
pray for our speedy release and restoration. The God of 
peace, who brought Jesus the Good Shepherd from the 
dead, make you complete in doing His will, to whom be 
glory forever. Amen. 

Take kindly, I pray, these exhortations. Remember 
Timothy is set free, and with him I expect to visit you. 
Greet teachers and all the saints. The Italians here join 
me in greeting you. Blessings on you. Amen (chap. 13). 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



JAMES 

We now come to consider the last group of epistles 
in our New Testament. 

The Catholic or General Epistles 

This last group of letters are called the Catholic, or 
General, Epistles. They are James, First and Second Pe- 
ter, First, Second and Third John, and Jude. They are 
called Catholic, or General, letters because of the general 
tone characterizing these letters. There is very little spe- 
cific local reference in any of these epistles. 

James 

i. The Author. It is fairly well agreed among New 
Testament scholars that the author of this epistle was 
James, the half-brother of Jesus. It could not have been 
James, the son of Zebedee, because he was put to death 
in the year 44. It is not at all probable that it was James 
"the Little." The following arguments are urged in favor 
of James, the brother of Jesus. 

(1) The similarity in the vocabulary of this letter 
to that of the address of James in Acts 15, and also in the 
letter sent by the conference to the Gentile Christians, 
also recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Acts. Out of two 
hundred and thirty words contained in the address and cir- 
cular letter in Acts 15, eight or ten of them recur in the 
epistle. This is the more remarkable since the epistle is 
written on an entirely different subject. The similarity 
of vocabulary would at least suggest that the James of 
Jerusalem, who delivered the address in Acts 15, and who 
probably had a principal hand in the composition of the 
circular letter sent by the conference, is also the author 
of this epistle. 

(2) The use of the term "law of liberty" in this epistle 
is easily explained on the supposition that the author was 
the half-brother of Jesus, who associated with the Nazarene 



258 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



in early life and afterwards remembered the beautiful ob- 
servance of that law of liberty in the inner life of Jesus. 
The fact that James was not converted until after the resur- 
rection of Jesus does not militate against this argument. 

(3) The extensive use of parables in this epistle is 
also easily explained on the hypothesis that James, the 
brother of Jesus, was its author. The use of parables was 
common among the Jews at that time, but Jesus gave to the 
parable, as a form of teaching, an emphasis and a glory 
hitherto unknown. It is natural to suppose that James, 
after his conversion, would be charmed with this mode of 
teaching religious truths. 

(4) Again the similarity between the teaching of this 
epistle and the Sermon on the Mount is striking. Compare 
James 1 125; 2:8, 12, 13, with Matthew 5:17-44, on the spir- 
itual nature of the law; James 1:2, 3; 2:5; 5:7, 8, 11, with 
Matthew 5:3-12, on the blessings of adversity; James 1:10, 
11 ; 2;6, 7; 4:4, 6, 13-16, with Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34; James 
1 '.26, 27, with Matthew 6:1-7, on the futility of external re- 
ligion; James 1:22-25; 2:14-26, with Matthew 7:15-27, on 
the contrast between saying and doing, etc., etc. (See 
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible for a complete comparison 
of all the passages in James with the Sermon on the Mount). 
If the author of this epistle is James, the brother of Jesus, 
this similarity of teaching is more easily explained than 
on any other hypothesis. 

2. The Occasion. The Christians addressed were 
suffering persecution from the rich (1:2-4). Especially 
were those Christians who were laborers being defrauded 
by their rich employers (5:4). These employees had not 
received their just wages, although their rich employers 
were heaping up gold and silver and living in luxury. There 
was also a tendency on the part of the Christians to pay 
special respect to the rich and slight the poor (chapter 2). 

3. The Purpose. There is a double line of purpose: 
(1) To encourage his readers in the patient endurance of 
all the tribulations of life, especially the injustices which 
are heaped upon them by the rich. It may be that some 
of these Jewish Christians in the lower walks of life, who 



JAMES 



259 



were being defrauded of their just wages and experiencing 
other injustices in life, were becoming skeptical as to the 
justice of God and the reality of the religion of Jesus 
Christ. James writes to encourage them and insist upon 
patient endurance of all such ills. (2) To emphasize the 
practical side of Christianity. It is not enough for one to 
believe in the messiahship of Jesus and rest securely in this 
simple faith. Faith must be expressed before the world in 
a life of good works (2:14-26). It is because of this spe- 
cific purpose of James in writing to the scattered Jews in 
the dispersion that he uses the term "justify" in a sense 
different from that in which it is used by Paul. There is 
no conflict between James and Paul. While Paul is writing 
on the technical, theological significance of justification, 
James is writing with a practical purpose to show that the 
life of good works is the only real evidence of genuine, 
saving faith. 

4. The Date. The date of composition is variously 
placed by New Testament scholars. By some who re- 
gard this epistle as "Catholicized Paulinism," it is placed 
as late as 140. By a few who think the letter is a mere 
patch work of earlier sermons, it is dated at 120. Some 
others say it was written at Rome, as late as 90. Still 
others take it back as early as 70, regarding it as the pro- 
duction of a heretic. The most probable date is about the 
year 50 or 51. It is probable that this letter was written 
by James a short time before the Jerusalem conference, the 
earliest written production in our New Testament. 

5. Its Canonicity. It is well known that Martin 
Luther called this epistle one of straw. There have been 
others with extreme doctrinal tendencies in their nature 
who have minimized the importance of this epistle. As to 
its canonicity it must be conceded that Eusebius, the early 
church historian in the early part of the Fourth Century, 
placed this epistle along with Jude, Second Peter, Second 
and Third John, in a list of what he called "disputed 
books." It is also remembered that James is omitted from 
some of the early versions and catalogues of New Testa- 
ment books. It does not occur in the Muratorian Frag- 



260 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



ment, nor is it found in the Cheltenham list of New Testa- 
ment books, supposed to have been written in Africa, about 
the middle of the Fourth Century. On the other hand, it 
is found in the Peshitta version and so was generally rec- 
ognized in the East as early as the first part of the Third 
Century. It is also found in lists given by Origen, Cyril 
of Jerusalem, Athanasius, and many others. It was finally 
adopted in the canon by the Third Council of Carthage, in 
397. It was probably kept out of the Western canon until 
so late a day because of the apparent conflict between 
James and Paul. We need not feel any hesitancy in ac- 
cepting the epistle of James as one of the sacred books of 
our New Testament. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1). 

II. The Use and Source of Trials (1:2-18). 

1. To perfect Christian character (1:2-6). 

2. Warning- against double-mindedness (1:7-11). 

3. Endurance brings a crown (1:12). 

4. The source of our suffering man's sin (1:13-15). 

5. God the source of all good, even of our spiritual life (1:15-18). 

III. How to Receive the Word (1:19-27). 

1. With humility (1:19-21). 

2. With the spirit of obedience (1:22-25). 

3. With application to control of the tongue, personal purity, 
and charity for others (1:26, 27). 

IV. Warning Against Partiality (2:1-13). 

1. Special courtesy to the rich the sign of imperfect faith (2:1-4).. 

2. The poor more worthy of respect than the rich (2:5-7). 

3. Partiality breaking the law (2:8-11). 

4. Judgment to be administered according to the law of liberty 
which regards the heart and not the circumstances (2:12, 13). 

V. Faith and Good Works (2:14-26). 

1. Mere profession of faith of no avail (2:14-19). 

2. True faith always fruits in good works as illustrated in 
Abraham and Rahab (2:20-26). 

VI. Warning Against the Improper Use of the Tongue (3:1-12). 

1. Responsibility of teachers (3:1). 

2. Difficulty of controlling the tongue (3:2-8). 

3. Inconsistency of failing to control the tongue (3:9-12). 

VII. True and False Wisdom (3:13-18). 

1. The false wisdom earthly, carnal, devilish, full of bitterness 
and jealousy (3:14-16). * + , 

2. True wisdom heavenly, simple, full of kindness and gentle- 
ness and all good deeds (3:13, 17, 18). 

VIII. Warning Against Contentions and Worldliness (4:1-17). 

1. Selfishness the cause (4:1, 2). 

2. Selfishness prevents the answer to prayer (4:3). 

3. Whole-hearted service demanded (4:4-6). 

4. Resisting the devil and drawing nigh to God (4:7-10). 



JAMES 



261 



5. Fault-finding with our neighbors condemned (4:11, 12). 

6. God in our life plans (4:13-17). 

IX. Woes and Promises (5:1-11). 

1. Woes upon the rich (5:1-6). 

2. Promises for suffering Christians (5:7-11). 

X. Miscellaneous Exhortations (5:12-20). 

1. Against swearing (5:12). 

2. To pray for the sick (5:13-15). 

3. To confess our sins to one another and pray for one an- 
other, (5:16-18). 

4. To win back the wanderer (5:19, 20). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

James, a bond-slave of God and of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, to Jewish Christians in the dispersion, sends greet- 
ing. 

My brothers, be happy when you are called upon to 
suffer for Christ's sake, for these trials contribute to pa- 
tience and the perfecting of Christian character. If any- 
one does not know how to transmute his sufferings into 
perfect Christian character, let him ask God, who will 
richly supply him with the heavenly wisdom so to do. But 
let him ask in absolute confidence that God will give him 
such wisdom. Remember that circumstances do not make 
life. The rich Christian should rejoice in the opportunity 
for lowly service, for he shall pass away like the fading 
flowers of the field. The poor Christian should rejoice 
that he is exalted to suffer for the King. Let both re- 
member that patient endurance leads to the crown of life 
promised to all that love God. Let no man say that his 
enticement to evil comes from God, for such enticement is 
born in the sinful heart of man and bears its fruit in death. 
Do not mistake my teachings. No evil thing comes from 
God, but every good and perfect gift comes from the un- 
changing Father above, who has made us His spiritual chil- 
dren through the truth of the good news. 

Therefore, my brothers, be swift to receive the word 
of God as humble listeners, but slow to speak words of 
hasty temper. Lay aside all filthy, superfluous speech, and 
let God speak to you in His word. Not only hear the word, 
but practice it, for He who hears and does not practice is 
like a man who hastily glances at himself in a mirror and 
at once forgets the features of his own face. Happy is the 



262 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



man who continues to let God speak to his soul in His 
word, and then practices that word. Vain is any man's 
religion if he merely keeps the forms and rites of religion 
and fails to control his tongue, keep himself pure, and help 
the fatherless and widows (chap. i). 

My brothers, do not present the rich with special seats 
of honor and slight the poor with seats of dishonor in your 
places of worship. You must not slight the poor Christian, 
for God has chosen a larger number of the poor than of 
the rich to be sons of His reclaiming love. Besides, the 
rich persecute you. You cannot keep the law of the heavenly 
King to love your neighbor as yourself, if you practice 
partiality towards the rich. This partiality is a violation 
of the law and makes you guilty as a law-breaker, just as 
if you had committed murder or adultery. So speak and so 
act as to show mercy to the poor and not favor to the rich, 
and you shall be blessed in the day of rewards. 

My brothers, the only way to show that you believe in 
Christ is to do what He says, clothe the naked, feed the 
hungry, and help the helpless. The demons have a cold, 
intellectual faith that God exists, but such faith does them 
no good. Abraham had a real hearty confidence in God's 
promise to him and proved that confidence in offering up 
Isaac, the child of promise. Rahab also proved her faith 
in Jehovah by kindly receiving His messengers. As the 
body without the soul is dead, so faith without deeds of 
love is dead (chap. 2). 

Do not aspire, my brothers, to be teachers, for the 
responsibility rightly to use the tongue is great. Indeed, 
it is a hard task to control one's tongue. Horses are mas- 
tered by bridles, ships are directed by rudders, but no man 
without divine aid can control the tongue. It is a fire of 
evil touched off by the match of hell. Hence, men cannot 
conquer it, though they may tame beasts and birds, rep- 
tiles and sea monsters. But it is wrong to praise God and 
curse men made in His image, with the same tongue. Ask 
God for wisdom to use your tongues in sending forth 
streams of praise to Him, and stop them from pouring 
forth volleys of cursing against your fellowmen. Such 



JAMES 



263 



wisdom comes only from heaven and will prevail in deeds 
of love and kindness of speech (chap. 3). 

What is the cause of your quarrels? Is it not your 
evil desire to spend life's blessings upon yourself alone? 
You pray, but your prayers are not answered, because you 
pray for blessings to satisfy your selfish appetites. O, 
you corrupted and lascivious men and women ! do you not 
know that you cannot lock arms with the lusts and allure- 
ments of the world without breaking fellowship with God? 
Therefore, resist the devil, and he will flee ; yield to God, 
and He will be gracious. 

Stop speaking evil of one another, for he who speaks 
evil of his neighbor is not a doer but a critic of the law, 
and thus sets himself up against God the Lawgiver. Stop 
making your plans for life without seeking to know the 
will of God. Your life is as fleeting as the vapor that van- 
ishes with the morning. Therefore, stop boasting of your 
personal achievements, but gladly yield your lives to God 
to do His will (chap. 4). 

O you rich, weep and howl, for a curse is on you for 
heaping up gold and silver and living in luxury. The rust 
of your gold and silver shall rise in the judgment to con- 
demn you. The unpaid wages of the reapers who reaped 
your fields shall cry against you in the ears of the just 
God. O my brothers, be patient in enduring such injustice, 
for the day of judgment is coming. You must wait like the 
farmer for the products of his toils, in patience, for the 
fruits of your labors and afflictions. Remember the pa- 
tience of Job and the prophets. 

Yield not to the common temptation of profanity. Let 
the name of God be sacred on your lips. Let the sick 
pray and the happy sing songs of praise. Pray for the 
sick, and use the best medical means available, and the 
prayer issuing from the heart of faith and expressing it- 
self in good deeds shall save the sick and accomplish won- 
ders. It was so in the days of Elijah, whose prayers sealed 
and opened the heavens. Lead back the wandering brother 
and thus preserve his spiritual life from decay, and so cover 
his sinful life with a mantle of charity. 



CHAPTER XXIX 



FIRST PETER 

There are two letters in our New Testament canon 
which bear the name of the Apostle Peter, the first of which 
claims our consideration in this chapter. 

1. Its Occasion. According to the introduction we 
learn that this letter was addressed to the Jewish Chris- 
tians in Pontus, Galatia, Asia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia. 
These Christians were suffering bitter persecution. Their 
sufferings appealed to the great apostle to the Jews, and 
so he writes this letter. The relation of the Apostle to the 
Jewish Christians in these regions is not definitely known, 
but his authority as the apostle to the Jews would ex- 
plain the writing of this letter to these suffering Christians 
of his race. 

2. The Purpose. There seems to be only one great 
purpose in the mind and heart of the writer. His sympathy 
goes out to these fellow Christians of his own race, and so 
he writes to encourage them in the patient endurance of all 
these sufferings. He urges upon them the example of 
Jesus Christ the Savior, who suffered all the evils men 
inflicted upon Him, the righteous for the unrighteous, that 
He might bring us unto God. It does not seem to be the 
primary purpose of the Apostle Peter to set forth for his 
readers an elaborate treatment of the fundamental doc- 
trines of Christianity. His purpose is practical rather than 
doctrinal. He brings in the great doctrines of Christ's 
personality and sufferings and death, but mainly for the 
purpose of encouraging these suffering Christians to hold 
onto the gospel and to be patient in the endurance of per- 
secution. 

3. The Petrine Authorship. A few New Testament 
scholars in modern times deny its Petrine authorship, on 
the following grounds : 

(1) In the first place it is urged that it is not likely 
that the Apostle Peter would address a letter to churches 
which had been formerly addressed by the Apostle Paul 



FIRST PETER 



265 



(1:1). In reply to this objection it can be said that it 
would not be a violation of the understanding between 
Peter and Paul at the Jerusalem conference for the former 
to write a letter to Jewish Christians in territory evan- 
gelized by the latter. In addressing this letter to these 
Jewish Christians, the Jewish apostle is not at all intrud- 
ing upon the rights of the great apostle to the Gentiles. 
Certainly it cannot be shown that there is any antipathy 
on Peter's part to have dealings with Christians with whom 
Paul has been associated. 

(2) It is further urged that this letter is not Petrine 
because it contained so much Pauline teachings. Especially 
do we find a similarity of teachings between First Peter 
and Ephesians. Not only many of the exact moral and 
theological teachings found in Ephesians also occur in this 
letter, but often the very phraseology is remarkably sim- 
ilar. On the other hand, the similarity of First Peter to 
Ephesians cannot be logically urged as an argument against 
the Petrine authorship. After the Jerusalem conference, and 
especially after the episode of controversy between Paul 
and Peter at Antioch, it is more than likely that Peter 
swung around more completely than ever before to the 
doctrines of the gospel as set forth by Paul. 

(3) Perhaps the most cogent argument urged against 
the Petrine authorship is the excellent Greek in which the 
letter is composed. It is urged that the Apostle Peter, who 
in the earlier years knew so little Greek that he must have 
Mark as an interpreter of his Aramaic to his Greek audi- 
ences, could not have written the smooth Greek in this 
letter. But this argument of style is never a conclusive 
argument in itself. It is only when it has other unanswer- 
able arguments confirming it, as is the case of the letter 
to the Hebrews, that the argument of style has any con- 
siderable weight. It must be admitted that Peter was 
more than an ordinary man, and so, in the twenty or thirty 
years intervening between his early preaching and the 
composition of this letter, he could easily have mastered 
the Greek language to such an extent that he could have 
composed a letter in as good Greek as we find here. This 



266 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



is all the easier to understand when we remember that 
Greek was the common language of all the people in those 
days, and that the Apostle Peter inevitably associated 
through all those years with Greek-speaking people. 

These historical and literary objections to the Petrine 
authorship are' entirely swept away by the following argu- 
ments for the Petrine authorship : 

(1) The external evidence is strongly in favor of Pe- 
ter the Apostle as the author. The Didache (i 4), the letter 
of Polycarp in the first quarter of the Second Century, Cle- 
ment of Rome, even earlier than this, Papias, and the epistle 
of Barnabas, all refer to First Peter, and either declare, or 
imply, that it is the literary production of the Apostle. 
There is no doubt expressed on the part of early Christian 
writers as to the authorship of this letter, as is the case with 
the epistle to the Hebrews. 

(2) The internal evidence is also strongly in favor of 
the Petrine authorship. The writer claims to be an eye- 
witness of Christ's sufferings, in 5:1. The writer also 
emphasizes the pastoral phases of Christ's ministry, just 
as Jesus Himself emphasized that phase of Peter's ministry, 
in His charge to him at the Sea of Galilee (See 2:25 and 
5:2-4). There is also a striking literary similarity between 
this letter and Peter's addresses in the book of Acts. The 
appeal to the Old Testament to corroborate Christ's suf- 
ferings as found in First Peter 1:11, is also found in an 
address by Peter in Acts 3:18. The reference to the stone 
rejected by the builders, as found in First Peter 2:7, 8, is 
also found in Acts 4:11. The cross is called a "tree" in 
First Peter and in Peter's language in Acts. Moreover, 
it may be said that the pictorial style of First Peter, though 
written in very much better Greek, in this respect resem- 
bles the style of Mark's gospel, which is based on Peter's 
preaching. 

4. The Date. It is probable that Peter was a very 
old man, and was nearing the end of his eventful career, 
when he wrote this letter. We should place the date of com- 
position about 64-65. 



FIRST PETER 



267 



General Outline 

I. Salutation (1:1, 2). 

II. The Privileges of God's Redeemed Family (1:3-2:10). 

1. Thanksgiving to God for the salvation promised in the 
prophets and realized in Jesus Christ (1:3-12). 

2. Redeemed by the Lamb and regenerated through the word, 
as spiritual priests and God's own possession, living in hope 
and holiness (1:13-2:10). 

T T T. Specific Exhortations (2:11-3:12). 

1. Abstain from carnal sins (2:11, 12). 

2. Be loyal citizens (2:13-17). 

3. Servants, suffer after the example of Christ (2:17-25). 

4. Wives, submit to your husbands and adorn yourselves with 
good deeds (3:1-6). 

5. Husbands, honor your wives (3:7). 

6. Let all live in unity and love (3:8-12). 

IV. Further Exhortations to Patient Suffering (3:13-5:11). 

1. The example of Christ again urged as a motive to Christian 
suffering (3:13-4:6). 

2. The second coming also a motive to good living (4:7-11). 

3. Rejoicing in privilege of suffering for Christ (4:12-19). 

4. Relation of churches to their leaders, and of believers to one 
another, etc. (5:1-11). 

V. Conclusion (5:12-14). 

1. Letter sent by Sylvanus (5:12). 

2. Salutations and benediction (5:13, 14). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the divinely chosen 
Christian Jews in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and 
Bithynia, according to the loving purpose of God the Fa- 
ther, by the transforming power of the Spirit, with a view to 
obedience to Christ by the application of His blood. 

Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who out of His matchless mercy lifted us into a living hope 
by the resurrection of His Son and gave us as sons a fade- 
less, incorruptible inheritance in heaven — us who are now 
preserved by His power unto the final deliverance. In this 
hope continue to rejoice with unspeakable joy. Although 
you must suffer a season, you can rejoice because your 
sufferings refine your souls as a fire purgeth out the dross 
from the gold. Rejoice, for the prophets of old looked ex- 
pectantly for this coming deliverance but did not entirely 
understand the time which the Spirit of the Messiah in 
them pointed out for its realization on earth. But to you 
the Holy Spirit has sent the messengers of heaven to pro- 
claim this deliverance. 



268 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 

Therefore, tuck together the thoughts of your mind as 
a runner fastens his robe about his waist with the girdle. 
Be pure, for God is holy, and Christ as a spotless lamb, ac- 
cording to the eternal purpose of God, shed His blood 
to pay the ransom price for your deliverance. His word 
is alive, is the means of bringing you into spiritual life, 
and itself lives forever (chap, i). 

Remember that you believers in Christ are the true 
Israel, the spiritual house of God, His chosen people, built 
on Christ, the Chief Corner Stone, who is precious to all 
believers, who are priests unto God to offer up sacrifices 
of service and praise through Jesus Christ. 

Beloved, I beseech you as pilgrims on earth to lead 
pure lives among the Gentiles, that they, by seeing your 
good deeds, may learn to love God and live for Him. 

Render allegiance to the king and obey all the laws 
of the land. Though you are free men in Christ, use not 
your freedom as an excuse for lawlessness. Honor God. 
Love the brotherhood. 

Bond-slaves, render reverential service to your mas- 
ters, even though they are unreasonable in their demands. 
See to it that you all suffer, not for doing wrong, but for 
doing right and following the example of Christ. Remem- 
ber that in your suffering you are following the Savior, 
who, though sinless, suffered and bore our sins on the 
cross, that we might be healed from the disease of sin 
(chap. 2). 

Let Christian wives be good to their unbelieving hus- 
bands, adorning themselves not with braided hair, jewels 
of gold, and dazzling dresses, but with a gentle, quiet dis- 
position, for this will win them to Christ. 

Husbands, be tender with your wives, remembering 
that they are the fragile vessels and need your protecting 
hand of love. If this you do your prayers shall not be un- 
answered. 

Live like brothers; but love and forgive one another. 
Render not evil for evil, but suffer for the evils of others, 
as Christ also suffered once for our sins, the righteous for 



FIRST PETER 



269 



the unrighteous, who, even in the days of Noah, in the 
Spirit preached to the antediluvians the message of His 
delivering love. As Noah and his family were saved by 
the floating ark on the water, so your Christian baptism 
represents your deliverance from sin by the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ, who is now exalted in heaven (chap. 3). 

Since Christ has suffered for you, you ought no longer 
to live the old Gentile life of lasciviousness, revelry, and 
idolatry, but according to the will of God, for evil doers 
shall suffer punishment at last for their evil deeds. 

In view of the end of this age and the second coming 
of Christ, love one another, give yourselves to hospitality 
and to prayer, and, as the stewards of God's rich-, forgiving 
love, speak only as utterers of God's truth, and minister 
to all for His glory. Amen. 

Beloved, wonder not, but rejoice that you are sharers 
with Christ in His suffering. Happy is the man who suf- 
fers for Christ's sake. If the Christian suffers so much 
here, what shall be the suffering of the ungodly and the 
sinner hereafter (chap. 4) ? 

I, a fellow-elder, an eye-witness of the sufferings of 
Christ, and a sharer of His glory, exhort you leaders in 
the churches to care for the flock of God, as good shep- 
herds, not as slaves or hirelings or tyrants, and so at the 
coming of the Great Shepherd you shall receive the fade- 
less crown of reward. Let the young take heed to the 
counsels of the leaders. Let all serve one another in low- 
liness and sweet trust in God, for He cares for you and 
will exalt you in due time. Resist the devil, for he is ever 
on the path for prey, like a lion of the jungles after his 
victims. After you have suffered a little while, the God 
of all forgiving love, according to His eternal purposes, 
shall perfectly fit you for His glorious presence in heaven. 
To Him be the kingdom forever. Amen. 

By Sylvanus I send this message as God's truth. Stand 
by it, and live in hope through its encouragement. The 
church here greets you. So does Mark, my spiritual child. 
Greet one another. Prosperity be with you all in Christ 
(chap. 5). 



CHAPTER XXX 



SECOND PETER AND JUDE 

We consider both these letters in the same chapter 
because of the striking similarity as to the teachings con- 
tained in the letters. 

Second Peter 

1. Its Occasion. There is not any reference in the 
letter to any local situation. But we do see that the Chris- 
tians addressed are threatened with the pernicious teach- 
ings of certain greedy, beastly false teachers. 

2. The Purpose. The author wrote to stem the tide 
of these false teachings. The second chapter is the heart 
of the epistle. In this chapter he describes the low and 
debased characters of these false teachers. It is his pur- 
pose to send forth a warning to the readers so strong and 
effective that they will not yield to the seducing tendencies 
of these erroneous teachers. The tendencies to immorality 
which these erroneous teachings have are described in lurid 
pictures. The two last figures of speech used at the close 
of the second chapter, referring to the dog turning to his 
vomit and the pig wallowing in the mire, are graphic de- 
lineations of the moral degradation of those who stooped 
to follow these false teachers. 

3. The Petrine Authorship. Many modern New Tes- 
tament scholars reject the Petrine authorship of this let- 
ter. They urge that the external evidence itself is against 
the genuine apostolic authorship of this letter. It must be 
conceded that the references in the early Christian writers 
to this letter are scarce. The paucity of the references to 
this letter, in the early writers, is easily explained when 
we remember the shortness of the letter itself and the 
fact that the first letter would more naturally be quoted 
than the second. It is not mentioned by Irenaeus and sev- 
eral of the leading early fathers. But it is likely commented 
upon by Clement of Alexandria and also by Origen and 
his contemporary, Hippolytus. It is also mentioned by 



SECOND PETER AND JUDE 



271 



Clement of Rome, before the close of the First Century, and 
by Justin Martyr, at the middle of the Second Century. 

It is also urged that the internal evidence is against 
the Petrine authorship. The following seven points are 
urged by the radical school: 

(1) Some go so far as to claim that there are quota- 
tions from Josephus, who died at the beginning of the 
Second Century, in this letter. This objection is so ex- 
treme that it needs no refutation. 

(2) It is claimed that the doctrine of man as a par- 
taker of the divine nature, which is expressed two or three 
times in this letter, was not taught until the Second Cen- 
tury. In reply we can say that this doctrine is clearly 
taught in Paul, James, and John, ranging from the middle 
to the close of the First Century. 

(3) The slight reference in the letter to redemption 
through the cross and the resurrection of Christ, is also 
urged against the letter. But there is a clear hint at re- 
demption in 2:1, although there is silence as to the doctrine 
of the resurrection. This cannot be urged against the gen- 
uineness of the letter, since the letter is not a doctrinal 
treatise on the fundamentals, but a warning against spe- 
cific false teachings. 

(4) It is also urged that there is very slight coinci- 
dence between this letter and the speeches of Peter in the 
book of Acts. This may be answered by pointing to the 
small compass of the letter and the specific purpose of the 
writer in answering the particular false teachers threaten- 
ing the readers. 

(5) It is also claimed that Second Peter takes for 
granted the existence of the letter of Jude. Compare Jude 
6 with II Peter 2:4; Jude 7, with II Peter 2:6; Jude 8, 
with II Peter 2:10; Jude 10, with II Peter 2:12; Jude 11, 
with II Peter 2:15; Jude 12 and 13, with II Peter 13 and 
17, etc., etc. But it is not certainly known which was 
written first, Second Peter or Jude. Again Jude might 
have been written before Peter's death, and might have 
been in his possession before he wrote his second letter. 



272 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



(6) The vocabulary is claimed by some to be against 
the Petrine authorship. It is true that the words are dif- 
ferent from those in the first letter, and from those in the 
speeches of Peter in Acts. But the specific purpose of the 
author in dealing with these particular false teachings, 
would limit him as to his vocabulary. There is no real 
objection in the use of the word "eye-witness" in I :i6, a 
word which is used in connection with the heathen mys- 
teries. Paul also used some of the words that were in com- 
mon use in these circles. 

(7) It is claimed that the second letter of Peter de- 
pends on the Apocalypse of Peter, a production of the Sec- 
ond Century. But there is no proof of this; and the fact 
that modern scholars regard the Apocalypse of Peter as a 
forgery would easily explain the similarity between the let- 
ter and the Apocalypse, by assuming that the forger in the 
Apocalypse borrowed from the genuine letter. It would 
not be natural for one forger to borrow from another forger. 

4. Its Canonicity. Although this letter does not oc- 
cur in the Muratorian Fragment, and is mentioned by 
Eusebius, the church historian, in the Fourth Century, as 
not being positively received in the canon, yet it was re- 
ceived by the close of the Fourth Century as one of the 
sacred books. Hence, we need not hesitate to regard it 
as having a proper place in our New Testament canon. 

5. The Date. It is likely that the Apostle wrote this 
letter a short time after his first letter, just before his mar- 
tyrdom. We would date it somewhere in the years 66 
to 68. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction (1:1, 2). 

II. The Readers, Sharers of the Divine Nature and Promises, the 
Writer's Authority and Purpose (1:3-21). 

1. Exhortation of the readers to higher moral character since 
they are in possession of the divine nature (1:3-11). 

2. The author's authority as an eye-witness and his purpose to 
warn with the authoritative message (1:12-21). 

III. Warning Against False Teachers, Libertines and Scoffers (Chap. 
2). 

1. The example of the fallen angels (2:1-4). 

2. The example of the Antediluvians and Sodomites (2:5-14). 

3. The example of Balaam (2:15, 16). 

4. Exhortation based on these examples (2:17-22). 



SECOND PETER AND JUDE 



273 



IV. The Second Coming of Christ a Motive to Godly Living; and 
Spiritual Culture (Chap. 3). 

1. The certainty of His coming (3:1-7). 

2. The suddenness of His coming (3:8-13). 

3. Exhortation to spiritual culture (3:14-18). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

Simon Peter, a bond-slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, 
to those who have experienced the same spiritual blessings, 
blessings and prosperity be multiplied in your spiritual 
knowledge of the Father and the Son. Since He has called 
us to attain unto His own glorious character and given 
to us most precious promises through which we have be- 
come sharers of the divine nature, add to your first faith 
in Christ the virtues of valor, experimental knowledge, 
self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and 
universal love. He who lets these graces shine in his 
Christian character shall receive a heavenly welcome into 
the kingdom of glory. Since I have seen His glory on the 
Mount of Transfiguration and am not following the forged 
fables of old women, I remind you of these things, that 
you may think of them and live according to them after 
my decease. Take heed to this prophecy and let the Holy 
Spirit help you interpret it, for all prophecy was given by 
the Holy Spirit through men who yielded to His guidance 
(chap. i). 

Beware, for false teachers, led by greed and guilty of 
lasciviousness, shall arise to make merchandise of the peo- 
ple. As God spared not the fallen angels but thrust them 
down to Gehenna for punishment: as He destroyed the sin- 
ning antediluvians and overthrew the wicked cities of 
Sodom and Gomorrah, so He will punish these false teach- 
ers, who devour the people like irrational beasts. They 
shall be cursed as Balaam was for pronouncing a curse 
upon the people of God. They are waterless springs and 
storm-driven fogs, for whom the darkness of darkness is 
reserved forever. They who follow such false teachers are 
like the dog that turns back to eat his vomit and the pig 
that wallows in the mire (chap. 2). 

This is the second letter I am writing to stir your 
minds to remembrance of these things. I warn you again 
that mockers shall arise in the coming time, denying that 



274 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



the Savior will keep His promise to return the second time. 
They wilfully forget that God once destroyed the wicked 
world with water and will again consume it with fire. 

Do not forget that there is no time limitations with 
God, for a thousand years are no longer to Him than a 
day. He will keep His word, although the mockers deny 
it. Jesus Christ will come again as suddenly as the com- 
ing of the thief. Then the elements of the natural universe 
shall be on fire and shall pass away with the roaring noise 
of a crashing conflagration. For this reason I exhort you 
to live pure and godly lives and thus be ready for His 
coming, for He has prepared new worlds of sinlessness, in 
which we shall spend eternity. 

Again, I join our beloved brother Paul, who received 
special knowledge through the Spirit on these matters, 
in warning you against being unprepared for the sudden 
coming of the Lord. Do not misinterpret our message of 
love and truth, for if you do you will be carried away with 
the false teachings of these greedy, beastly teachers. But 
live in the light of the coming consummation of the Lord's 
glory, by growing in the spiritual strength and experimental 
knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be praise 
both now and forever. Amen (chap. 3). 

Jude 

1. Its Occasion. The same kind of circumstances that 
elicited the writing of Second Peter also called forth the 
writing of the letter of Jude. False teachers were about 
to lead astray those who believed in Jesus Christ. Just 
as in Second Peter, there is no local coloring in Jude to 
help us determine who the readers were. 

2. The Purpose. The purpose seems to have been 
both negative and positive. Negatively, Jude writes to 
warn his readers against the pernicious tendencies of the 
false teachers. Positively, he writes to urge his readers 
to contend earnestly for the true doctrines handed down 
by the apostles (see vs. 3). 

3. Its Authorship. Who was the Jude who wrote 
this letter? Some of the extreme New Testament critics 



SECOND PETER AND JUDE 



275 



claim that this letter is a forgery of the Second Century, and 
that the name Jude is assumed only for the sake of au- 
thority. The objections urged against the genuineness 
of this letter are as follows: (i) The allusion to the teach- 
ings of the apostles sounds late, claim the objectors. In 
reply it may be said that this reference merely indicates 
that the author was not himself an apostle. It does not 
necessarily indicate that he was not a contemporary of the 
apostles. He is merely referring to the apostolic teachings 
to give cogency to his warning in this letter. (2) The ex- 
pression, "The faith," signifying a system of teachings, also 
points to a usage later than that of the First Century. In 
reply to this objection we urge that even Paul used the 
term in this objective sense, as early as the composition of 
the letter to the Romans (see Romans 14:1). We likewise 
find this usage of the term in the pastoral epistles, so that 
if they were written by Paul, as we have sought to prove 
in a previous chapter, it would not be unnatural for Jude, 
about the same time, to use the term in the same sense. 
(3) The heresy against which the letter warns seems to have 
been the Gnosticism of the Second Century, say these ob- 
jectors. But we have already shown, in previous chap- 
ters, that Gnosticism existed in the First Century and was 
beginning to undermine the basal doctrines of Christianity. 
Keen eyed men of faith like Paul and Jude and John could 
see the perils of these false teachings, and hence, they de- 
nounced them in their writings. The Jude who wrote this 
letter was the half-brother of Jesus. 

4. The Date. There are no historical facts to help 
us fix the date precisely. It is likely that the letter was 
written before the fall of Jerusalem, and so we would place 
the letter about 68-70. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1, 2). 

II. Charge to Preserve the Faith (3). 

III. Warnings Against False Teachers: urging the examples of the 
sinning Israelites, fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah 
(5-7). 

IV. Denunciation of Railing Against Those in Authority (8-10). 



276 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



V. Denunciation of Cainites (murderers), Balaamites (the im- 
pure) , Korahites (schism makers), and Those Who Mis- 
use the Love Feast (11-13). 

VI. These Evils Foretold in Enoch (14-16). 

VII. Also Foretold hy the Apostles (17-19). 

VIII. Duty of Encouraging Believers and Saving Sinners (20-23). 

IX. Doxology (24, 25). 



CHAPTER XXXI 



FIRST JOHN 

In this chapter we consider the first and most sig- 
nificant of the Johannine letters. 

1. The Author. The external evidence is decidedly 
in favor of the apostolic authorship of this letter. Poly- 
carp, a disciple of John the Apostle, and Papias, another 
disciple of John, both quote from the letter and imply its 
apostolic authorship. Irenseus, a disciple of Polycarp, that 
is, living in the next generation after John the Apostle, also 
quotes it. Besides the testimony of these three early Chris- 
tian writers we may make the general statement that the 
letter was widely accepted in the early churches as the 
writing of the Apostle. Before the close of the Second 
Century it was practically universally received as the pro- 
duction of the Apostle's pen. 

Practically all New Testament scholars agree that 
whoever wrote the gospel of John also wrote this epistle. 
The ideas, the vocabulary, and the style are so similar as 
almost to demand the same author for both. In a previous 
chapter we have shown that the internal evidence of the 
gospel points to John the Apostle as the writer. Therefore 
we conclude that both the external and the internal evi- 
dence demands that John the Apostle must have written 
this first letter. 

2. Its Occasion. The occasion of the letter was the 
spreading of the false teaching that the Christ was not a 
real man but only seemed to be. This heresy taught that 
Jesus was the son of Joseph and Mary, and that on Him 
at His baptism descended a divine element called the Christ; 
that this divine element departed from Him before the 
crucifixion, and so did not suffer on the cross. The chief 
promoter of this false doctrine in the days of John was 
Cerinthus, whom John so thoroughly detested because of 
his false teaching that he would not even remain in the 
public bathhouse with him. It was under these circum- 
stances, with such a doctrine promoted by such a leader as 
Cerinthus and undermining the glorious personality of 



278 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Christ the Savior, that John, the aged apostle, took up his 
pen to write this beautiful letter. 

3. The Purpose, There is a double purpose: (1) To 
counteract these false teachings of Docetism fostered by 
Cerinthus and his followers. The writer wishes to show 
that the historical Jesus is also the divine Christ; that the 
divine Christ did become a real man, who suffered and 
became the propitiation for the sins of the whole world 
(See 2:2 and 4:2). The real humanity of Jesus must be 
accepted just as heartily as His real divinity. (2) To show 
on the practical side that faith and love, expressing them- 
selves in righteousness, are the unanswerable proofs of fel- 
lowship with God. He writes to show that any one who 
believes in Jesus Christ as the real Son of God and the real 
Son of Man, who loves God and his brothers, has in him 
the unmistakable evidences of being a child of God. He 
who loves his brethren has passed out of death into life. 
He who practices righteousness has the assurance of being 
in fellowship with God. The key word of the letter is "we 
know." The great doctrine of assurance shines in all its 
beauty from the pages of this letter. It is a letter of Chris- 
tian certainties. 

4. The Readers. There is quite a diversity of opin- 
ion as to the readers addressed in this letter. Renan, the 
French critic, supposed that the letter was addressed to 
Palestinian Christians. Hug, a German critic, thinks that 
the letter was addressed to the Ephesian church, while 
Lightfoot names the Corinthian church as the addressees. 
Holtzmann and Hilgenfeld regard it as an encyclical let- 
ter addressed to Christians beyond the reach of John's im- 
mediate influence and administration. The general ency- 
clical tone of the letter is one of its leading characteristics, 
but it is most probably addressed primarily to the churches 
of Asia Minor, with Ephesus as the center of its circle of 
readers. These churches had felt the power and uplift of 
John's beautiful life of love and his successful ministry after 
the close of Paul's remarkable career at Ephesus. The per- 
sonal touches in the letter, reference to the readers as "little 



FIRST JOHN 



279 



children," "beloved," etc., suggest that there was a personal 
relation between the writer and the readers. 

5. Place and Date. There is scarcely any doubt that 
John composed this letter in Ephesus, late in life, about 
95, and yet there is no direct reference in early Christian 
literature asserting this as a fact. 

General Outline 

It must be remarked at the beginning of an effort to 
produce an outline to this letter that it does not possess 
any real logical order. Yet, there is a plan observable in 
the arrangement of the thoughts of the letter. 

I. Introduction: the theme, the fact of the incarnation (1:1-4) 

II. God Is Light, and Believers Must Live in the Light (1:5-7). 

III. Christ Our Advocate (1:8-2:2). 

IV. Obedience the Test of Love (2:3-6). 

V. Loving One Another the Old and New Commandment (2:7-11). 

VI. The Writer's Purpose (2:12-14). 

VII. Love of the World and Love of the Father Exclusive (2:15- 

17). 

VIII. Anti-Christ the One Who Denies the Real Humanity of Christ 

(2:18-29). 

IX. The Unspeakable Love of the Father in Making Us Sons 

(3:1-3). 

X. The Mission of Christ to Destroy the Works of the Devil 

(3:4-8). 

XI. So Believers Cannot Practice Sinning (3:9-12). 
XII. Loving One Another an Evidence of the New Life (3:12-18). 

XIII. Obedience the Evidence of Faith and Love and a Guarantee 

to Answered Prayer (2:19-24). 

XIV. The Test of the Anti-Christ, His Attitude Toward Christ as 

a man (4:1-6). 

XV. God's Children Loving One Another as the Father Loved 
Them Have the Sure Evidence of Sonship (4:7-21). 
XVI. Faith in the Incarnate Christ Conquers the World (5:1-5). 
XVII. The Three Witnesses to the Son, the Spirit, Baptism, and 
Christ's Death (5:6-8). 
XVIII. Fellowship With God Through Faith in the Incarnate Christ 
(5:9-12). 

XIX. Prayer for Forgiveness of Sins (5:13-17). 
XX. Children of God Not to Practice Sinning But to Keep Them- 
selves from Idols (5:18-21). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

The incarnate Son of God, who existed with the Father 
from all eternity, we have seen with our eyes and touched 
with our hands, and thus He was made known to us as the 



280 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



medium of fellowship with the Father. These things we 
write to fill up the cup of our joy. 

This is our message. God is perfectly sinless, and 
if we have fellowship with Him we must live lives clear 
as the noon day sun, else our life is a lie. If thus we live 
we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of 
Jesus removes the casual blots of sin received from the 
touch of the world. If we should say we have not the sin 
principle in us, or that we never commit an act of sin, we 
make God a liar. If we confess our sins He will keep His 
promise to forgive us and cleanse us from every stain 
(chap. i). 

My little children, I write to urge you not to stoop 
to sin, and yet, if any one should fall into sin, we have a 
Friend at heaven's court, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, 
who has made adequate amends for sin, so that the Father 
may forgive not only our sins but those of all men, if they 
wish it so. We are assured that we have known Christ 
experimentally in the forgiveness of our sins, if we keep 
His commands and walk in love as He walked. He who 
loves his brother is walking in the sunlight. He who hates 
his brother is living the life of sin. 

I write to you, little children, because you have known 
the Father in the forgiveness of your sins; to you, fathers, 
because you have such an extended experimental knowledge 
of His love; to you, young men, because you are mighty 
in the Spirit and have conquered the wicked one. Stop 
loving the world and the things in it, for all the selfish 
ambitions and pride of life are not given by the Father 
but are a part of the world's stock of sin. The pleasure 
the world gives fades like its flowers, but he who does the 
will of God lives forever. 

My little children, I know this is the last stage of his- 
tory on earth, because the opponents of Christ, the false 
teachers, are coming. Some of our own number are going 
out from us as false teachers. But this is because they were 
not really in fellowship with us. Who is the liar, the great- 
est opponent of Christ? Is it not he who denies that the 



FIRST JOHN 



281 



Son has come in the flesh? To deny the Son is to deny 
the Father; to confess the Son is to have fellowship with 
the Father. Little children, the Holy Spirit, through His 
anointing within you, teaches you these great truths. Con- 
tinue to have fellowship with Him and practice doing right, 
for this is evidence that you are God's children (chap. 2). 

Behold, what unspeakable love the heavenly Father 
lavished upon us in making us His own children! This is 
our present relation to Him, and it is not possible now to 
conceive of what we shall become hereafter, except we 
know that we shall be like Him in beauty and glory of 
character, when He comes again. Such a hope lifts our 
lives above the touch of habitual sinning. Because we pos- 
sess the divine nature as sons of God, we have this con- 
quering power to keep down the sin principle in us; and 
so we do not continue to practice sinning. Surely as sons 
of God, we cannot hate one another as Cain hated and slew 
his brother. 

Wonder not if the world hate you. Be assured that you 
have passed out of spiritual death into spiritual life, and 
have fellowship with the Father, if you love one another 
as brothers. If any man has an abundance of life's ma- 
terial goods and closes his heart of sympathy against his 
brother in need, and refuses to relieve that need, how can 
he claim to have the Father's love in his heart? Let us 
love in sincerity and prove it by deeds of kindness. Happy 
are we if our conscience condemns us not in this matter. 
For if we do His commands in practicing the right and lov- 
ing one another, we are guaranteed an answer to our 
prayers (chap. 3). 

Beloved, test the spirit of all teachings. If any one 
like Cerinthus denies that the Son of God was incarnated in 
human flesh, repudiate his teaching, for he is a false 
prophet. But you are children of God and have conquered 
these false teachers, because greater is the power of good 
in you than the power of evil in them. 

Beloved, let us continue to love one another, because 
love is the life of our religion and the glory of God's char- 
acter. We did not love Him, but He loved us first and sent 



282 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



His Son to make amends for our sins and to be the Savior 
of the world. We know that we have fellowship with God, 
because we have His Spirit, who helps us love one another. 
Such love removes from our hearts all slavish dread 
(chap. 4). 

We who accept the incarnation of the Christ in the his- 
torical Jesus have become God's children, and we love God 
as Father and one another as brothers. We are certain that 
we do love the children of God, if we keep His commands, 
and thus prove that we love God. As children of God we 
conquer the sins of the world, because we are linked to 
God by an overcoming faith in the incarnate Son, to whom 
the Spirit, His baptism, and His death, bear testimony. If 
we receive this testimony to the humanity of the divine 
Son, we have the testimony in our consciences that we are 
His and He is ours. We have eternal fellowship with God 
through Him, and we know our prayers are answered, if 
we ask for blessings in accord with His will. Pray for the 
forgiveness of your brother's sins. I do not say that you 
should pray for the forgiveness of the unforgivable sin. 

We are sure that every child of God is kept by God 
from practicing known sins. We know that we who re- 
ceive the incarnate Son of God are His children, and all 
the rest of the world is in the power of the wicked one. We 
have experimental knowledge of Jesus Christ as a true God 
and the only medium of fellowship with the Father. Little 
children, guard yourselves from the false gods (chap. 5). 



CHAPTER XXXII 



SECOND AND THIRD JOHN 

In this chapter we consider the other two letters bear- 
ing the name of John. 

Second John 

1. The Author. The internal evidence suggests that 
the same writer that wrote the first letter also wrote the 
second. The ideas, as far as they go, and the style, are 
so similar in the two letters as to make us conclude that if 
John the Apostle wrote the first letter he also wrote the 
second. The suppositions of a few New Testament scholars 
that the similarities between the ideas and style of the two 
letters are evidence that a forger of the Second Century 
wrote the second letter in imitation of the first, are not 
well grounded. 

2. The Addressee. It is a puzzle to New Testament 
scholars as to who is the real addressee of this letter. There 
are four possible translations to the Greek in the saluta- 
tion: (i) To an elect lady; (2) to the elect lady; (3) to 
the elect Cyria (or Kyria) ; (4) to the lady Electa. Ac- 
cording to the inscriptions of the period, the name Cyria 
was common, and so it is natural for scholars like Athan- 
asius, Bengel, De Wette, Diisterdieck, Ebrard, and others, 
to favor the third translation. We are inclined to favor 
this translation, and so to assert that John addressed this 
second letter to a Christian woman named Cyria. The 
first and fourth translations are least acceptable, while the 
second is not impossible. 

It is not credible to hold with Jerome and Hilgenfeld 
that this second letter of John was addressed to the whole 
Catholic church. 

3. Occasion and Purpose. The circumstances out of 
which arose the second letter are similar to those giving 
rise to the first letter. Certain false teachings were en- 
dangering Cyria and her children, and perhaps the church 
to which they belonged. The false doctrine being taught is 
doubtless the same as that alluded to in the first letter. 



284 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



The purpose of the author was: (i) To commend Cyria 
and her children for their loyalty to the truth preached by 
the Apostle himself. (2) To warn them against the false 
teaching which is in the air. He fears that they might be 
influenced by the smooth words of the false teachers. 

4. Place and Date. It is likely that this letter, like 
the first, was also composed at Ephesus, not many months 
after the composition of the first letter, 95 or 96. 

General Outline 

I. Introduction: commendation and salutation (1-3). 
II. Commendation of the Addressee's Children for Walking in the 
Truth (4). 

III. Exhortation to Lore one Another (5, 6). 

IV. Warning- Against the False Teachers, the Docetists Who Deny 

That Jesus Was a Real Man (7-11). 
V. Conclusion: his hope to visit in her home; greetings (12, 13). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

The elder, to the divinely chosen Cyria and her chil- 
dren, whom I and all who love the truth love for the truth's 
sake, which lives in us now and shall forever. Spiritual 
blessings, forgiving love, and prosperity shall be with us 
from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son. 

I rejoice with unspeakable joy that I have found some 
of your children loving and living the truth which has 
been received from the Father and which we have taught 
so faithfully. And now I beseech thee, Cyria, to remem- 
ber, not any novel message of mine, but the old command- 
ment of our Lord, that we should love one another. Here 
lies the unmistakable evidence of love, that we should keep 
His commandments. The greatest of His commandments 
is that we should love one another. I entreat you thus and 
commend you for loving and living this old truth, because 
I know that false teachers have gone out into the world 
to deceive others into believing that Jesus Christ, the Son 
of God, never became a real man at all; that He only 
seemed to be a man. Such false teachers are the arch en- 
emies of Christ. Beware lest you, by receiving the false 
teaching, destroy the things achieved by us and also lose 
your own reward for loyalty and service. Any leader that 
receives not and teaches not the truth that Christ came in 



SECOND AND THIRD JOHN 



285 



the flesh, has no fellowship with God. He who holds this 
truth has fellowship with the Father and the Son. If any 
one comes to your home and does not receive this teaching, 
entertain him not and pray not heaven's blessings on him, 
for he who thus endorses him becomes a sharer in his evil 
deeds. 

Although I have many things to say to you, I will not 
write them with paper and ink, but will see you face to 
face and tell you these things, that your cup of joy may 
be full. The children of your divinely chosen sister greet 
you. 

Third John 

1. The Author. The earlier recognitions of this let- 
ter in Christian literature associate it with John the Apostle 
as the author. Because of the shortness of the letter, and 
hence its comparative unimportance, the references to it 
in the early Christian literature are fewer than the refernces 
found concerning the first letter. It is also natural that the 
third letter should be quoted less than the second. The ex- 
ternal evidence, though somewhat meager, is decidedly in 
favor of the apostolic authorship. The internal evidence, 
the ideas, the vocabulary, and the style, all point in the 
same direction. 

2. The Addressee. The letter was addressed to one 
Gaius, about whom we have no certain knowledge. We 
cannot assert positively that he is to be identified with 
others of this name in the New Testament (Acts 19:29; 
20:4; Rom. 16:23; I Cor. 1:14). We are also equally ig- 
norant concerning his position in the church, whether a 
pastor or an influential layman. 

3. Occasion and Purpose. Certain traveling mission- 
aries had visited the church of which Gaius was a mem- 
ber. They had been kindly received and entertained by 
him, but had been mistreated and discouraged by the am- 
bitious Diotrophes. Hence there was a twofold purpose: 
(1) To commend Gaius for his hospitality and encourage- 
ment to the missionaries. (2) To suggest that possibly he 
will make a personal visit to settle the disturbing elements 
in the church. 



286 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



4. Place and Date. There is no reason to doubt that 
this third letter, like the other two, was written at Ephesus, 
late in the Apostle's life, about 96. 

5. Ecclesiastical Significance. Harnack, one of the 
greatest of modern church historians, sees in this letter 
conditions belonging to the transition from the primitive 
simplicity to the more developed form of church govern- 
ment. He regards Diotrephes as the first monarchial bishop 
known to us by name. He thinks he sees in the ambitious 
movements of this early church leader tendencies toward 
the complex ecclesiastical church government, which was 
developed in the succeeding centuries. If these surmises 
of Harnack are true we have in the denunciation of Dio- 
trephes by John the clear teaching of the New Testament 
against this form of church government. 

General Outline 

I. Salutation (1). 
II. Prayer for Gaius for His General Prosperity and Commendation 
of His Loyalty to the Truth (2-4). 

III. Commendation for His Hospitable Reception of the Traveling 

Missionaries (5-8). 

IV. Denunciation of Ambitious Diotrephes (9-10). 

V. Exhortation to Do Good and Remember the Example of One 
Demetrius Known as a Doer of Good (11-12). 
VI. Conclusion: The Writer's hope to visit the church of Gaius; 
greeting (13, 14). 

Line of Thought in Modern English 

The elder, to Gaius the beloved, whom I love for the 
truth's sake. 

Beloved, my prayer for you is that in all material and 
physical things you may be as prosperous and sound in 
health as you are in your spiritual life. For I rejoiced 
with an unspeakable joy when friends came and told me 
how loyal you were to the truth and how beautifully you 
were living according to that truth. It produces the great- 
est joy that ever swells my heart to see my children living 
according to the truth. 

Beloved, I commend you for receiving and entertain- 
ing the traveling missionaries, who speak before your 
church of your hospitality and love to them. This is a 
worthy work of yours to encourage and help in their mis- 



SECOND AND THIRD JOHN 



287 



sion of love these missionaries, who went forth in the name 
of Christ, without material support. All of us should ever 
be ready to thus welcome and hearten such fellow strangers, 
who heard the good news of Christ, for thus we become 
sharers with them in the work of publishing the good news. 

I warn you against the ambition of Diotrephes, who 
wants to rule or ruin the church, and who opposes us. He 
not only refuses to welcome the missioneries, but has ex- 
pelled from the church those who do so welcome them. 
He goes about prating against us as bossing the church 
because we stand for these missionaries and for those who 
sympathize with them. Beloved, follow not Diotrephes 
in his evil deeds, but imitate Demetrius, who enjoys a good 
reputation among all people and is crowned by truth her- 
self as one of her most loyal subjects. We heartily com- 
mend him for his love and loyalty and generosity, too. 

I have many more things to say, but I prefer not to 
write them with ink and pen, but shortly to talk them over 
with you when I see you face to face. Prosperity be with 
you. The friends greet you. Greet our friends by name. 



PART V 



Apocalyptic Portion 

CHAPTER XXXIII 

REVELATION 

This is the most difficult of all New Testament books 
to interpret. The problems connected with its production 
and interpretation are varied and complicated. We shall 
discuss in this chapter only the more important features 
of the book. 

1. Its Occasion. The Christians of Asia were suffer- 
ing bitter persecution. The forces of the government had 
been turned against the Christian people in the province of 
Asia. Out of these circumstances of opposition, on the part 
of the imperial authority against Christianity, and out of 
the persecutions inflicted upon the suffering Christians, 
arose the book. 

2. The Purpose. There is a single line of purpose 
running through the book. The author wrote to encourage 
those suffering Christians with the assurance that Chris- 
tianity would surely triumph over all evil and all opposi- 
tion. The struggle between the forces of good and evil 
is prominent in this book, but there is no doubt as to the 
final issue. The doers of evil shall suffer punishment in 
the final judgment, while the martyrs for the word of God 
and the testimony of Christ shall share in the future glory 
of the kingdom. 

3. The Author. There are three theories held by 
modern New Testament scholars. (1) John the Apostle 
wrote it. For internal evidence in favor of this view see 
1:9; 22:8; compare also, with these, 18:20 and 21:14. As 
to the external evidence for the apostolic authorship, nearly 
all of the early church fathers, from Justin Martyr, about 
the middle of the Second Century, and Irenseus, in the last 



REVELATION 



289 



quarter of the same century, on, regard it as the production 
of the Apostle John's pen. Nearly all conservative scholars 
accept this view. 

(2) Some other John was author. Bousset and other 
German scholars hold this view. It is also held by a few 
English and American scholars. Against this view stands 
the external evidence, and the internal evidence cannot be 
claimed any more in favor of some other John than in 
favor of John the Apostle. 

(3) The name John is used by the real writer pseu- 
depigraphically ; that is, the author concealed his own name 
under the name of the Apostle John, in order to secure 
apostolic authority for his literary production. This is the 
view held by the most radical critics. Against this view 
stands the external and internal evidence. Those who hold 
this view usually deny the unity of the book, claiming that 
the writer is merely a compiler from various Jewish sources. 
The vocabulary and style in the various portions of the book 
point to its unity. Hence, we may assert with safety that 
the evidence logically points to the conclusion that John 
the Apostle was the author of Revelation. 

4. The Date. There are two principal dates that 
have been held by various New Testament scholars, 68 and 
96. The early date has been held by Baur, Reuss, Hilgen- 
feld, Ewald, Lightfoot, Westcott, Salmon, Bovon, Bey- 
schlag, and many others. The later date has been held by 
Weizsacker, Holzmann (H. J.), Harnack, Julicher, Bousset, 
Zahn, Godet, Milligan, Sanday, Ramsay, McGiffert, Bacon, 
Porter, and most others. The latter date is the more prob- 
able, because the persecution at this time was more bitter 
and more extensive than at the former date. The descrip- 
tions of the opposition to Christianity in the book evidently 
point to a period of severe opposition and intense struggle. 
According to this view Revelation is not only the last in 
our New Testament canon, but was also actually the last 
book to be written in our New Testament. 

5. The Nature of This Apocalypse. Is John's apoc- 
alypse a purely Jewish production, or is it distinctively 
Christian, or is it a blending of Jewish and Christian mater- 



290 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



ials, and also is it a blending of the Jewish and the Chris- 
tian spirit? Surely it would not be true to all the facts 
to hold with some German critics that it is merely a patch- 
work of Jewish apocalyptic fragments brought together by a 
Jewish Christian, but done so clumsily as to leave the Jew- 
ish spirit prominent in the resultant production. On the 
other hand, it is surely not distinctively Christian as con- 
tradistinguished from Jewish. The sanest explanation of 
the nature of John's apocalypse is that he used Jewish 
material but combined it in such a way as to give the 
Christian point of view and leave the Christian spirit prom- 
inent on its every page. He used the Jewish form of ex- 
pression but put into the form the Christian idea. 

It must not be held, as some extreme critics hold, that 
the apocalypse is merely a form of literature. Zahn of 
Germany has strongly contested this view of his brother 
Germans. It is true that the apocalypse is a literary form 
among the Jews; that this literary form was adopted by 
John in the giving of his final message to the world. But 
it must be remembered that John had real spiritual exper- 
iences and genuine visions from the Lord, of the struggle 
between truth and error, good and evil, and of the final 
outcome, the punishment of evil, and the conquest of Chris- 
tianity over all opposition. 

6. Its Unity. Is the book of Revelation the composi- 
tion of one author, or is it the result of compilation from 
many fragments of Jewish apocalypses, with the Christian 
tone, as is held by Gunkel, Bouset, Holtzmann, Spitta, and 
others? The unity of Revelation is vindicated on the 
ground that its lexical usage is fairly uniform throughout 
the book; also the grammatical constructions and general 
style are uniform; and finally the theological teachings 
throughout the book form a unit. How, then, can it be 
questioned that the book is the composition of one hand, 
and that the Apostle John's? 

7. The Sources. The Old Testament is the principal 
source from which John draws his Jewish material. Out 
of four hundred and four verses in the book of Revela- 
tion, two hundred and sixty-five contain Old Testament 



REVELATION 



291 



language, and that mostly apocalyptic. There are five hun- 
dred and fifty references to the Old Testament. Chapter 
eighteen, on the fall of Babylon, is a good illustration of 
Old Testament material in the Johannine apocalypse. The 
material of this description of the fall of Rome is gathered 
from Isaiah 13 and 14, from Jeremiah 50 and 51, from Isaiah 
23, and Ezekiel 26 to 28. There is an independent use of the 
material for the expression of his lofty spiritual concep- 
tions of the struggle between good and evil. The same 
use of the Old Testament may be illustrated with John's 
description of the New Jerusalem (21:1-22:5) which is 
taken, as to its literary symbols, largely from Ezekiel and 
the latter half of Isaiah. He also selects some of his figures 
from Zechariah and Daniel. It is not clear, as is maintained 
by Gunkel and Bouset, that John used a great deal of un- 
canonic figures and symbols. It is more probable that 
John took over his symbols from the book of Daniel, rather 
than from the uncanonic Jewish apocalypses. 

8. The Language. As intimated above, the language 
is largely borrowed from the Old Testament. The vocabu- 
lary moves in a small circle. The author, in his exile on 
Patmos, is completely absorbed in the language and spirit 
of the Old Testament Scriptures, especially the apocalyptic 
portion. Hence, we do not find a free and independent use 
of the author's peculiar vocabulary, as we do in the gospel 
and letters bearing his name. Still, some of his regular 
expressions do recur in Revelation, Logos, Lamb of God, 
love, light, etc. The grammatical constructions are rather 
simple, and sometimes exceedingly loose, from the Greek 
point of view. The poor grammar of this book is doubtless 
due to the absorption of the author in the language of the 
Old Testament, and consequently to the lack of the free 
use of his own linguistic peculiarities. The style of Revela- 
tion abounds in bold figures and symbols. To one with a 
spiritual eye looking for great spiritual truths back of the 
figures, the book is one of the most charming of our New 
Testament. 

9. Methods of Interpretation. There are three prin- 
cipal methods of interpreting this book: (1) The futuristic 



292 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



method. According to this view John in his vision actually 
saw all the future history of the world in all the cen- 
turies of time, down to the consummation of the age and to 
the judgment. It is quite possible that God, by special in- 
spiration, might have given John such a panoramic vision 
of all the future. But those who have interpreted the book 
after this method have entangled themselves in many absurd 
conclusions in the effort to fit every figure or symbol in the 
book to some historical person or institution in a par- 
ticular century. (2) The futuristic ecclesiastical method, 
according to which the interpreter regards John as having 
a vision of the complete history of the church in all its fu- 
ture conflicts with states, popes, and other foes. Those 
who have held this view have likewise been driven to some 
ridiculous conclusions. (3) The historico-spiritual method 
seems to be the most natural method for a fair and logical 
interpretation of this book of figures ; that is, that the 
author took the existing conditions of the church and of the 
Roman empire, in their struggle against each other, as a 
background for describing the general spiritual conditions 
of struggle at any time between the forces of Christianity 
and of evil. This method avoids the difficulties of literally 
applying specific figures or symbols to particular persons 
or historical events in certain centuries. 

General Outline 

I. The Prologue: subscription and authentication of the Book; 

salutations to the seven churches in the province of Asia 
(1:1-8). 

II. The First Vision: In this section the author introduces Christ's 
message to the seven churches preparatory to the Revela- 
tion proper (1:9-3:22). 
III. The Second Vision: Breaking the seven seals which bind the 

Book of the future (4:1-8:1). 
IV The Third Vision: Sounding of the seven trumpets, which 
evoked the seven plagues, designed to turn the ungodly 
to repentance in preparation for the Lord's return (8:2- 
11:18). 

V The Fourth Vision: Manifestation of the seven mystic figures 
which join in a conflict of error against truth (11:19- 
14:20). 

VI. The Fifth Vision: Outpouring of the seven bowls which dis- 
charge the wrath of God upon the ungodly (15:1-19:10). 
VII The Sixth Vision: The complete triumph of Christ and the 
final judgment (19:11-20:15). 
VIII The Seventh Vision: The new earth, and the new Jerusalem 
(21:1-22:5). 
IX. The Epilogue (22:6-21). 



REVELATION 



293 



Line of Thought in Modern English 

The following is a revelation from Jesus Christ which 
God gave Him concerning the things shortly to come to 
pass, certified to by an angel and witnessed to by John. 
Happy is he who hears and heeds the truths of this revela- 
tion. 

John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia, 
wishes blessings and prosperity from the eternal God and 
from Jesus Christ, the first to rise from the dead, and the 
Prince of princes. Unto the Deliverer, who released us from 
our sins by His death and made us kings with free access 
to God, be praise forever. Amen. He is coming again, 
and every eye shall see Him. Let Him come. 

I, John, a brother with you in persecutions, on the Isle 
of Patmos, in the spirit on the Lord's day, had a vision of 
the Lord's glory. A voice behind me bade me write and 
send it to the seven churches. His flowing robes, golden 
girdle, snow white hair, flaming eyes, burnished feet, thun- 
dering voice, His right hand upholding the seven stars, 
and His mouth emitting a sharp sword, told me of His 
glory. I fell at His feet, and He bade me write this vision, 
assuring me the seven golden candlesticks are the seven 
churches, and the seven stars are the seven messengers 
(perhaps pastors) of the seven churches (chapter i). 

To the messenger of the church in Ephesus : Give my 
commendation for their endurance and rejection of wicked 
men; my reproof for retrogression from their first devo- 
tion to me ; my promise that if they turn I will prosper their 
church and give them the spiritual fruits of life's tree. 

To the messenger of the church in Smyrna : Bear my 
praise for their securing the real spiritual riches in the 
midst of persecution and poverty. Bid them bravely meet 
the persecution coming for a short season, and give them 
my promise that they shall wear the crown of reward 
and not be hurt by the separation from God which comes 
to the wicked. 

To the messenger of the church in Pergamum : Bear 
my commendation for the resistance of the forces of evil 



294 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



and their stand for the truth, so as to cast out those fos- 
tering impurity. Inform them that I condemn their holding 
of certain false teaching, but if they turn from them I will 
bless them and will slay their enemies with the sword 
of truth. Bear my promise to give the manna of life and 
my new incomprehensible name to him who prevails. 

To the messenger of the church in Thyatira: Bear 
my praise for their faith and love, their ministrations and 
endurance; my judgment on them for tolerating Jezebel's 
false teaching, which lead the people into immorality and 
idolatry. Because she stubbornly refuses to change I will 
punish her and her followers, but will give power and vic- 
tory to those rejecting her teachings (chapter 2). 

To the messengers of the church in Laodicea: Bear my 
admonition concerning their imperfect work, but my prom- 
ise to preserve in the roll of life's book those who do not 
defile their lives with evil or false teachings. 

To the messengers of the church in Philadelphia: Bear 
my praise for their works and loyalty to me; that because 
they kept my words I will keep them from the hour of 
trial. When I come soon I will make them beautiful pillars 
in the temple of God and write upon them the name of 
the New Jerusalem. 

To the messenger of the church in Laodicea : Bear my 
disgust with their lukewarm spiritual condition. I am 
sick at heart over their wretched spiritual condition. They 
think they are rich and happy, but they are poor and miser- 
able. Bid them buy spiritual eye salve so that they may 
see themselves as they are. I would like to come into their 
church life and experience and have full fellowship with 
them. I am standing like a stranger at the door, knocking 
for entrance. If they open the door, I will bless their church 
with my presence and fellowship (chapter 3). 

I had a second vision. A door was opened in heaven 
and I saw God resplendant in beauty and glory as a jasper 
stone and a sardius, with an emerald-like rainbow around 
His throne. I saw twenty-four distinguished saints upon 
thrones around the great throne of God. Before the throne 
shown the perfect intelligence of the All-Wise, and His 



REVELATION 



295 



moral beauty was like a crystal sea of glass. With the 
religious forces (symbolized by the elders) joined all senti- 
ent nature, represented by four living creatures, in as- 
cribing praise to God (chapter 4). 

In the second vision I also saw the lamb-like Lion of 
the tribe of Judah open the seals of the book of the future. 
None but Him could break the seals of this book. He 
was mighty, like the Lion, but gentle as the lamb, and a 
willing sacrifice for sin. So He was able to break the 
seals. Then the many varied hosts of earth fell down and 
worshipped Him, singing the new song, in which the un- 
fallen angels joined (chapter 5). 

He opened the first seal, and I saw the opening scenes 
of triumphant Christianity, symbolized by one riding on a 
white horse to conquer the earth. 

He opened the second seal, and I saw one riding on a 
red horse, symbolizing the opposition and persecution of 
Christianity. He opened the third seal, and I saw the rider 
on the black horse, typifying spiritual famine on earth. 

He opened the fourth seal, and I saw the rider on the 
pale horse of death, symbolizing the ravaging persecutions 
against the churches. 

He opened the fifth seal, and I saw the persecuted ones 
under the altar slain for their witness to the Word of God, 
but their vindication was not yet guaranteed until their 
future brothers should seal their faith with their life's 
blood. He opened the sixth seal, and the earth quaked, 
the sun turned black as sackcloth, the moon, red as blood ; 
the stars fell, the heavens were shaken, the mountains and 
islands were moved, all of which typified the convulsion of 
the nations and the agitations of kings who were being pun- 
ished for their opposition to Christianity (chapter 6). 

Then I saw four angels at the four points of the com- 
pass guarding the winds, as a symbol of Divine Providence. 
I saw another angel coming from the sunrise to see that 
no harm should befall the complete number of the saints 
until they are sealed as His forever. From the chosen 
nation of Israel shall come the complete number of select- 
ing love, and all nations and peoples shall have a place 



296 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



around the throne of final victory, with robes of victory 
and palms of triumph, because they washed their hearts 
and lives in the blood of the Lamb and patiently endured 
great persecutions. They shall sing the songs of praise 
to Him forever (chapter 7). 

In the third vision I saw the trumpet angels sounding 
the seven trumpets of woe. To show that God would help 
His people bear the woes, another angel cast fire upon the 
earth, symbolizing the going up of prayers from the saints 
and the coming down of divine help. The angel sounded 
the first trumpet, and I saw a mixture of hail and fire 
and blood torturing men, but only a part of them suffered 
this woe. This is what happened at the beginning of the 
Christian era. 

Another angel sounded the second trumpet, and I saw a 
burning mountain cast into the sea, symbolizing the over- 
throw of Roman imperialism. 

Another angel sounded a third trumpet, and I saw a 
falling star, symbolizing that some of the saints would not 
be loyal in the fierce struggle with persecution. 

Another angel sounded the fourth trumpet, and I saw 
the sun and stars grow dark, symbolizing the influence of 
false teachings on the shining of Christian truth. I saw 
also another angel, swift as an eagle, flying in heaven, 
to announce the coming woes of the next sounding trumpets 
(chapter 8). 

Another angel sounded the fifth trumpet, and I saw 
a star fall from heaven, symbolizing the turning loose of 
Satan from the abyss to torment men on earth. Smoke 
arose from the pit, and locusts out of the smoke, symboliz- 
ing the destructive influences of Satan, the commander- 
in-chief of the hosts of evil. 

Another angel sounded the sixth trumpet, and I saw 
the four messengers of the Euphrates loosed with a mighty 
army to punish those who deny the sound teachings of 
Christianity and follow the false teachings of Rome. 

I saw also another mighty angel, the angel of the 
covenant, with the little book of the covenant in his hand, 



REVELATION 



297 



standing with one foot on the land and one on the sea, and 
swearing with hands uplifted to heaven that God would 
intercede to defend and preserve His own people from 
the coming woes. This message was as sweet to me as 
honey (chapter 10). 

Before the sounding of the seventh trumpet I was 
ordered to measure the temple of God, the altar, and the 
worshippers, but to omit the space outside, which symbol- 
izes the separation of the righteous from the world. I saw 
two faithful witnesses, symbolizing the fact that God would 
have His loyal ones through all the coming woes. Another 
angel sounded the seventh trumpet, and the third woe fol- 
lowed, but the heavenly hosts will triumph over the hosts 
of evil, and heaven's kingdom shall rule the earth (chapter 

ii). 

I had a fourth vision in which I saw the seven 
mystic figures, symbolizing the powers of evil joining bat- 
tle against the hosts of Christianity. I saw a splendid 
woman give birth to a son, symbolizing the birth of Jesus 
from the true spiritual forces of God. I saw a great red 
dragon trying to swallow up the child and chasing his 
mother into the wilderness, symbolizing the persecution 
of Christians in the early stages of Christianity. Michael 
and the dragon fought, the good and the evil measured 
swords, but the good won the victory, the dragon was cast 
down, but keeps up his persecution of the Christians (chap- 
ter 12). 

Next I saw two wild beasts, symbolizing the powers 
of Rome (the world), one from the sea and the other from 
the land, with horns of power and crowns of glory, to whom 
the dragon gave power to oppose the good. The two co- 
operate to draw men from the worship of the true God to 
the worship of men (chapter 13). 

At the close of the fourth vision I saw the Lamb 
standing on Mount Zion, and with Him the delivered saints, 
symbolizing the victory of the Christians over the forces 
of evil. I saw three angels announcing, one the good news 
of Christ, the medium of conquest ; the second, the doom 
of Rome, and the third, the doom of all her followers. I 



298 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



saw the saints of the Lord dying to be happy forever in 
the reward of their toils and sufferings (chapter 14). 

In my fifth vision I saw the seven bowls of God's 
final wrath emptied on the hosts of evil. I saw the final 
triumph, and the victorious saints standing by the crystal 
sea of heaven's splendor and singing the song of praise 
to His conquering power. I saw the first angel empty 
his bowl of wrath upon those worshipping Rome; the sec- 
ond empty his bowl into the universal sea, symbolizing 
the divine punishment of the nationalities following Rome; 
the third empty his bowl into the rivers and the fountains, 
thus producing pollution, symbolizing the contamination of 
the sources of higher moral and religious living, but the 
overruling of those corruptions as punishment of evil by 
God; the fourth empty his bowl into the sun, symbolizing 
the punishment of those who perverted the truths of Chris- 
tianity; the fifth empty his bowl upon the capital city of 
Rome, the great perverter of Christian truth; the sixth 
empty his upon the Euphrates, whereupon I saw frogs com- 
ing out of the dragon's mouth, symbolizing the rising of 
hostile powers in the last days for a final battle between 
good and evil ; the seventh empty his into the air, symboliz- 
ing the general confusion prevailing in the last days. 

I saw a beautifully dressed woman riding a scarlet 
colored beast, symbolizing the support of false teachings 
by Rome, as interpreted by the angels to me. 

I saw another angel coming, who announced : "Fallen, 
falen is Rome the Great." I heard a voice from heaven 
calling to God's people to come out from the hosts of 
evil ; also the lamentations of kings, merchants, and shipr 
men, accomplices in the evil practices of Rome. I saw 
a great millstone cast by a mighty angel into the sea, sym- 
bolizing the fall of these organized hosts of evil. Then 
I heard the song of triumph in heaven by the delivered 
ones, who ascribe the hallelujahs to God and the Lamb 
(15:1-19:10). 

In the sixth vision I saw the final judgment, the con- 
quest of the hosts of evil, and the complete triumph of the 
Lamb (19:11-20:15). 



REVELATION 



299 



In the seventh vision I saw a new earth, stripped of 
its robe of evil, and the new Jerusalem, the city of sinless- 
ness, beauty and glory, where the victorious saints were 
enrolled as citizens of heaven, and into which even kings 
entered with honor and splendor. In it shall be no more 
sin, nor pain, nor death, and all shall be happy forever 
(20:1-22:5). 

The Lord showed me these visions and assured me that 
He is coming quickly. The angel whom He sent to certify 
these things seemed worthy of worship, but when I fell 
at his feet he took me up, refusing to let me worship him. 
He bade me not to seal up the prophecy of this book, be- 
cause the Lord is soon coming, when the destinies of men 
shall be fixed forever. 

He pronounces a final blessing on those who are pur- 
ified in His blood, that they may have the right to enter the 
city and enjoy its fruits of life forever. He again assured 
me that He is the true Messiah, the Son of David. 

The Spirit and the church invite all who will to follow 
the Lamb and enjoy the blessings of eternal life. 

The Lord pronounces a woe upon the man that adds 
to or takes from the words of this revelation, and again as- 
sures me that He is coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord 
Jesus. His blessings be upon His saints. Amen. 



300 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 

Chapter I 

1. Why important to know the general conditions of the Jews? 
2. Date the periods of N. T. history. 3. Describe Alexander's cap- 
ture of Jerusalem and his policy toward the Jews? 4. Name the 
parties in Jerusalem after Alexander's death. 5. Describe the policy, 
campaign and persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes; two results of 
his persecution. 6. Describe the uprising of Matathias; describe 
the activities of Judas Maccabeus; also of Jonathan; also of Simon; 
also of John Hyrcanus. 7. What was remarkable about the reign 
of Aristobulus? 8. Describe the struggle of the Pharisees with 
Alexander Jannaeus. 9. Describe the policy of Alexandra toward the 
Pharisees and her reforms. 

Chapter II 

1. Give reasons for our interest in the Roman period. 2. Describe 
the struggle between Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II; the former's 
alliance and the siege of Jerusalem. 3. Tell who were Pompey 
and Scaurus and how the Romans obtained supremacy over the 
Jews. 4. Who wrote the Psalms of Solomon? How and why? 5. De- 
scribe Antipater's relation with the Jews; Julius Caesar's policy to- 
ward them; their sufferings under Cassius and Antony. 6. Who was 
Antigonus and what did he do? 7. Describe how Herod the Great 
became king; his character; six important phases of his reign. 8. 
Tell of his successors and their respective territories; also the Jew- 
ish opposition. 9. Describe the character and career of Archelaus; 
Herod Antipas; Herod Philip. 10. What was Decapolis? Its in- 
fluence over the Jews? 11. Describe the Dispersion, especially ex- 
tent and influence; meaning of Grecians and Hebrews in Acts. 12. 
Who wre the procurators? What were their powers? 13. Tell of 
Herod Agrippa I and Herod Agrippa II; character and relation to 
Jews and Christians and where mentioned in N. T. 14. Discuss the 
cause, the occasion and issue of the Jewish-Roman war. 

Chapter III 

1. Discuss the elements, characteristics and distribution of the 
population of Palestine; its road system; five classes of society; 
language spoken. 2. Describe the influence of Hellenism on the 
Jews; the houses and furniture of the poor and the rich; meals and 
kinds of food; garments worn. 3. Describe the status of woman; 
Jewish marriage; Hillel's and Shammai's positions on divorce. 4. 
Describe the Jewish principle in child training; Jewish view of 
death. 5. Discuss principal occupations; achievements of the Jews 
in poetry, music, medicine, architecture, and writing. 

Chapter IV 

1. Give the place of monotheism in Jewish thought. 2. Discuss 
the origin, doctrines, and influence of the Pharisees; of the Sad- 
ducees; of Essenes; the views of the Herodians and zealots. 3. De- 
scribe the first and second temples — building, history, and difference 
between the two. 4. Describe the ministers of temple worship and 
the various sacrifices. 5. Give the origin, time and manner of cele- 
brating Passover, Pentecost, Feast of the Tabernacles, Day of 
Atonement and Feast of Purim 

Chapter V 

1. Discuss the origin, building, officers and services of the 
synagogue. 2. Define rabbi; rabbinism; the oral law. 3. Describe 
the two schools of the rabbis; two rabbinic colleges; the popular 
religion. 4. Discuss the growth, principal messianic passages, the 
general development and systematic statement of the messianic hope. 
5. Give differences between the literal and popular hope 6. Show how 
the teaching of the Baptist and the coming of Jesus fit into this re- 
ligious hope. 



SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 



301 



Chapter VI 

1. Which of the two elements in the N. T. are we emphasizing - ? 
2. Discuss meaning of synoptic and the points of agreement and dif- 
ferences in the synoptics. 3. Describe the theories of explanation 
for such agreements and differences; give our view. 4. Discuss the 
various points of difference and agreement between John and the 
synoptics. 

Chapter VII 

1. Discuss theories of authorship of Matthew; objections to sec- 
ond and third; external and internal evidences in favor of the first. 
2. Describe the sources, purpose, date, place of composition and ad- 
dresses of Matthew. 3. Discuss its language; composition; charac- 
teristics; give outline. 

Chapter VIII 

1. Who wrote the first canonic gospel? — and discuss external 
evidence in favor of same. 2. Discuss the source of Mark's Gospel; 
occasion; date and place; readers. 3. Give the three endings of Mark; 
most probable ending. 4. Discuss its characteristics; give outline. 

Chapter IX 

1. Give external and internal evidence for Lucan authorship of 
the third gospel. 2. Discuss his relation to Paul and Paul's influ- 
ence over him; occasion, purpose, sources, date and place of com- 
position. 3. Discuss integrity of the text; give characteristics and 
outline. 

Chapter X 

1. Give the three theories as to the apostolic authorship of 
John, and discuss the external and internal evidence 2. Describe 
Gnosticism; occasion, purpose, date, place of composition and ad- 
dressees of John. 3. Give its characteristics and outline. 

Chapter XI 

1. Give the outline of Jesus' life. 2. Discuss time and place of 
birth; worship of Him in infancy; Herod's plan; Jesus' consciousness 
at twelve; His education. 3. Describe John's preaching; Jesus' bap- 
tism and temptation. 4. Name first five disciples; first miracle; de- 
scribe Jesus' talks with Nicodemus and the woman. 5. Describe Gal- 
ilee; Capernaum; beginning of kingdom organization; Pharisaic op- 
position; conversion of Matthew and calling of the Twelve. 5. Give 
general discussion of the Sermon on the Mount; Jesus' second 
preaching tour in Galilee; Jesus' dealing with the doubting Baptist 
and the sinful woman. 6. Define the eternal sin; parable; three 
methods of Jesus' teaching; classes and purpose of miracles. 7. 
Discuss Jesus' view of uncleanness; the great confession; the trans- 
figuration; and the three addresses at Feast of Tabernacles. 8. Dis- 
cuss campaign of the Seventy; the true neighbor; the shepherd al- 
legory; Jesus' denunciation of the Pharisees; the use of money; 
new laws for banquets: raising of Lazarus and conversion of Zac- 
cheus. 9. Tell how Jesus proclaims His messiahship and silences 
His enemies; interview of the Greeks and His discourse on last 
things; His institution of the Memorial Supper; farewell discourse; 
intercessory prayer; agony in Gethsemane; arrest; Jewish and Roman 
trials. 10. Discuss the theories of His resurrection; its significance 
and its proofs. 

Chapter XII 

1. Tell how modern scholarship is divided on the Lucan author- 
ship of Acts, and give internal and external evidence in its favor. 
2. Discuss sources, purpose and date of Acts. 3. Give the number 
of addresses of Peter, Paul and others; discuss their composition 
as judged by the style. 4. Discuss the reliability of its historical 
accounts; manner of working out its chronology; date of principal 
events; general outline. 



302 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



Chapter XIII 

1. Why necessary to know Paul's world? 2. Discuss extent of 
the Roman Empire and show the hand of Providence in its history. 
3. Discuss the Roman emperors of the period; Roman policy as to 
road systems; modes of travel; commerce 4. Discuss the extent of 
the Greek language. 5. Discuss Rome's policy toward her provinces; 
number and classes of them. 6. Describe the religion and morals 
of the empire; light from Latin and Greek writers. 7. Characterize 
the two classes of the Jews; two wings of Christianity; achievements 
of Christianity before Paul. 8. Describe Paul's birthplace, early life, 
names, education, Roman citizenship, Pharisaism. 

Chapter XIV 

1. Discuss significance of Paul's conversion; the various ac- 
counts of it; references to it in his letters. 2. Describe the nature 
of his conversion; various views of his vision; relation of his con- 
version to his doctrines. 3. Describe his first activities; three years' 
stay in Arabia; visit to Jerusalem and stay in Cilicia. 4. Describe 
history, population, religion and morals of Antioch; gospel beginning 
there. 5. Discuss Paul's introduction to Antioch; his relief visit to 
Jerusalem; why and how Antioch becomes the new Christian center. 

Chapter XV 

1. Discuss date and origin of Paul's first missionary journey; 
city of Salamis; its evangelization; events in Paphos. 2. Discuss 
Mark's delinquency; Paul's first recorded sermon and his policy for 
reaching a new city. 3. Give results of this first sermon. 4. De- 
scribe Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Perga and their evangelization. 5. 
Describe the occasion, parties, subject of debate and the decision 
of the Jerusalem conference, as told in Acts; as told in Galatians; 
harmonize the two accounts. 6. Describe the significance of this 
conference in the history of Christianity. 

Chapter XVI 

1. Give the two principal causes of dissention in church life; 
cause and results of the dissention between Paul and Barnabas. 2. 
Describe Paul's second missionary journey — mode of travel; first 
plan; direction by the Spirit; vision at Troas. 3. Describe founding, 
history, and Roman character of Philippi. 4. Describe conversion of 
first European; its significance for Philippian church. 5. Describe 
imprisonment of Paul; conversion of the jailer; opposition met by 
Paul in Philippi. 6. Describe Athens; results of Paul's preaching 
there; his attitude toward Greek culture; Corinth and his labors 
there. 

Chapter XVII 

1. Name Paul's first letters; discuss occasion, date and purpose 
of the first; give outline. 2. Write paraphrase of this letter. 3. Give 
occasion, purpose, date of second letter. 4. Give the arguments for 
and against Pauline authorship of this second letter; outline; para- 
phrase. 

Chapter XVIII 

1. Name the two first groups of Paul's letters, each letter in the 
order of composition. 2. Discuss occasion, purpose and date of Gala- 
tians. 3. Discuss North and South Galatian theories; reasons for one 
adopted. 4. Give outline and paraphrase of Galatians. 

Chapter XIX 

1. Describe Ephesus; the story of Apollos; rebaptism of the 
twelve disciples at Ephesus. 2. Describe Paul's teaching places in 
Ephesus; results of the campaign there. 3. Discuss relations be- 
tween Paul and the Corinthian church; occasion for first letter to 
the Corinthians; purpose; date; outline; paraphrase. 

Chapter XX 

1. Describe Paul's last days in Ephesus; uprising of Demetrius, 



SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 



303 



etc. 2. Describe his movements and feeling's on leaving. 3. Describe 
occasion; purpose; date of second letter. 4. Give the arguments for 
genuineness and unity. 4. Give outline and paraphrase. 

Chapter XXV 

1. Discuss Paul's third visit to Corinth, origin and constituency 
of church in Rome. 2. Discuss occasion, purpose, date, character- 
istics of Romans. 3. Discuss its integrity, give outline and para- 
phrase 

Chapter XXII 

1. Describe Paul's last visit to Jerusalem; route taken and why; 
reception by the church; his vow there. 2. Describe his arrest in 
Jerusalem; address to the Jewish people and the conspiracy against 
him. 3. Describe his various trials in Caesarea; voyage to Rome and 
first work there. 4. Name the letters written there in chronological 
order. 5. Give occasion, purpose, date, outline and paraphrase of 
Philippians; also of Philemon. 

Chapter XXIII 

1. Describe occasion and purpose of Colossians. 2. Give external 
and internal evidence against and for the Pauline authorship. 3. Give 
date, outline and paraphrase 

Chapter XXIV 

1. Discuss occasion, purpose and destination of Ephesians. 2. 
Give the external and internal evidence against and for Pauline 
authorship. 3. Give date, outline and paraphrase. 

Chapter XXV 

1. Give reasons for believing Paul was released and made a 
fourth missionary journey. 2. Discuss the three positions as to au- 
thorship of the Pastorals; arguments against and for the Pauline 
authorship. 3. Discuss occasion; purpose; give date, outline and 
paraphrase of I Timothy. 

Chapter XXVI 

1. Discuss occasion and purpose of Titus; give date, outline 
and paraphrase. 2. Discuss occasion and purpose of II Timothy; 
give outline and paraphrase. 

Chapter XXVII 

1. Discuss the three possible destinations of Hebrews. 2. Give 
reasons for your conclusions. 3. Discuss occasion and purpose; give 
date. 4. Give external and internal evidence for Pauline author- 
ship; against Pauline authorship; name two other probable authors; 
which more probable. 5. Give outline and paraphrase. 

Chapter XXVIII 

1. Name the Catholic epistles. 2. Give arguments for James 
the brother of Jesus, as the author of James. 3. Discuss occasion, 
purpose, date and canonicity 4. Give outline and paraphrase. 

Chapter XXIX 

1. Discuss occasion and purpose of I Peter; give arguments 
against and for its Petrine authorship. 2. Give date, outline and 
paraphrase. 

Chapter XXX 

1. Why are Second Peter and Jude discussed together? 2. Dis- 
cuss occasion, purpose, arguments against and for the Petrine au- 
thorship of II Peter. 3. Give date, outline and paraphrase. 4. Discuss 
occasion, purpose and genuineness of Jude; give date and outline. 

Chapter XXXI 

1. Give external and internal evidence for the apostolic author- 



304 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND LITERATURE 



ship of First John. 2. Discuss occasion, purpose, readers addressed. 
2. Give date and place of composition; outline and paraphrase 

Chapter XXXII 

1. Discuss internal and external evidence for apostolic author- 
ship of Second John; the addressee; occasion and purpose. 2. Give 
place and date of composition; outline; paraphrase. 3. Give external 
and internal evidence for the apostolic authorship of III John; 
discuss addressee, occasion, purpose, place, date, ecclesiastical sig- 
nificance. 4. Give outline; paraphrase. 

Chapter XXXIII 

1. Discuss occasion, purpose; three theories as to authorship 
and date of Revelation. 2. Discuss the Jewish and Christian char- 
acter of this Apocalypse. 3. Discuss the unity of Revelation; views 
of radicals and arguments against them. 4. Discuss the sources, lan- 
guage, style, and the three methods of interpretation. 5. Give out- 
line and paraphrase. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Schuerer, The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. 

Riggs, History of the Jewish People. 

First Maccabees (passim). 

Josephus, Antiquities; Wars (passim). 

George Adam Smith, Historical Geography. 

Edersheim, Social Life of the Jews. 

Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. 

Sir John Hawkins, Horae Synopticae. 

Westcott, Introduction to the Four Gospels. 

Westcott, Commentary on the Gospel of John. 

Zahn, Introduction to the New Testament. 

Burton, The Principles of Literary Criticism and the Synoptic Prob- 
lem. 

Broadus, Commentary on Matthew (Am. Com.). 

Gould, St. Mark (I. C. C). 

Plummer, St. Luke (I. C. C). 

Hackett, Commentary on Acts (Am. Com.). 

Stifler, Introduction to the Book of Acts. 

Sanday-Headlam, Commentary on Romans (I. C. C). 

Conybeare and Howson, Life and Epistles of St. Paul. 

Iverach, St. Paul, His Life and Times. 

Gilbert, The Students' Life of Paul. 

Stalker, Life of St. Paul. 

Ramsay, St. Paul, the Traveler. 

Lightfoot, Commentary on Galatians. 

Ramsay, Historical Commentary on Galatians. 

Burton, _ A Handbook of the Life of the Apostle Paul. 

Robertson and Plummer, Commentary on First Corinthians (I. C. C). 

Denney, Commentary on Second Corinthians (Ex. Gk. Test.). 

Lightfoot, Commentary on Philippians. 

Lightfoot, Commentary on Colossians. 

Peake, Commentary on Colossians (Expos. Gk. Test.). 

Mullins, Commentary on Colossians and Ephesians. 

Expositors Greek Testament on Pastoral and Catholic Epistles. 

Westcott, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. 

Milligan, The Theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 

Bigg, St. Peter and St. Jude (I. C. C). 

Westcott, Commentary on the Epistles of John. 

Smith, Commentary on Revelation (Am. Cum.). 

Swete, Apocalypse of St. John. 

Articles in Bible Dictionaries, Smith, Hastings, International Stand- 
ard, Bible Encyclopedia on the various historical characters, 
cities, provinces, feasts, customs, and the books of the New 
Testament. 



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